SIPSE Fellows Are Required to: • Complete all components of the summer fellowship experience required by SIPSE and the sponsoring research group • Attend all summer professional development meetings and workshops • Complete an Action Plan that includes a personal or school team strategy for improving the way STEM subjects are taught in your classroom based upon your summer experience • Take part in program evaluation, upon acceptance and extending throughout the year after your SIPSE fellowship • Invite Southern Research staff to your classroom during the following school year to verify implementation of the Action Plan SIPSE Provides: • Teachers with a $4500 stipend for their participation in the program • Professional learning credits upon successful completion of all program requirements. • Weekly professional development workshops offered throughout the summer • Up to $1000 for the teacher to purchase supplies needed to support their Action Plan (lab supplies, computer software, etc.) • Feedback to the teacher’s principal and system coordinator on your Action Plan Eligibility • 9th-12th grade teachers employed full time in public or private schools with primary teaching assignments in science, technology, engineering, math, computer science or education. Teachers must be assigned a full-time teaching load during the academic year prior to the appointment and expect to do the same during the following year • U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status Key Dates March 2nd Applications are due no later than 5PM CST April 2nd Selected teachers will be notified April 13th Teachers much accept or decline their offer June 11th First day of SIPSE July 20th Last day of SIPSE The following represents possible summer internship positions: Cancer Therapeutics This opportunity is to work in the Cell Biology and Immunology lab within Southern Research’s Cancer Therapeutics group. This will be a full immersion experience were you will first gain experience with multiple techniques used in executing cell-based experiments (pipetting, aseptic technique, culturing human tumor cells, etc.). You will then undertake a cell biology or immunology project were you use the skills learned while adding in more advanced techniques to develop a new cell-based or immunological assay that can be used in future research at Southern Research. This position is ideal for an educator who teaches chemistry, biology, or physical science. Neurodegeneration and Other Brain-Related Disorders This opportunity is to work in a lab within the Neuroscience Department. Potential areas of research focus include Parkinson’s Disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), or schizophrenia. Initial work in the lab will involve learning basic molecular biology techniques (pipetting, aseptic technique, brain tissue sectioning) and may involve high resolution multi-channel fluorescence microscopy approaches. All projects will focus on improving awareness and understanding of the basic techniques used in neuroscience labs to 1) understand cellular heterogeneity and gene programs for specifying cellular identity, and 2) understand how neuron cell death can give rise to symptoms in people with neurological or psychiatric disorders. This position is ideal for an educator who teaches biology, genetics, chemistry, or psychology. Infectious Disease and Oncology Vaccine Development This opportunity is to work in the molecular PCR laboratory that provides molecular diagnostic testing services for clinical studies involved in the evaluation of novel vaccines and therapeutic approaches to address a variety of unmet medical needs in the areas of infectious diseases and oncology. Before new drugs and vaccines can be used in the general market, they must proceed through a rigorous clinical testing program designed to verify safety and efficacy in their use. You will be providing support for the development and validation of experiments that are used in the evaluation of clinical samples. The work is pivotal to the outcome of the clinical study, and is often the basis for important decisions as to whether or not to proceed with further clinical development. The work can be demanding and technically challenging, but is also extremely rewarding as this work is the foundation for the regulatory approval of new improved drugs, therapeutics and vaccines. This position is ideal for an educator who teaches biology, chemistry, or physical science. Internet of Things & Web Development This opportunity is to work with engineering students to learn and develop real-world sensor networks using Arduino, Raspberry Pi, and Particle.io technologies. You will learn how to apply rapid development tools to create prototype systems all the way to a production ready design. You will also learn basic electronics, programming and web-based database applications. Additionally, you will also have the opportunity to work with real businesses to develop their websites and digital marketing materials using the latest technologies and techniques. Mobile app development will also be introduced to you as well as simple database systems. At the end, the teacher will be able to utilize marketing and technology strategies to teach how websites are developed for businesses and simple to use tools to develop websites and web-based business intelligence tools. You will be equipped with the skills, tools, and curriculum ready to teach Internet of Things and embedded electronics concepts to your classes. This position is ideal for an educator who teaches engineering, computer science, or technology related classes. SIPSE FAQ What are the dates of the program? June 11th – July 20th Where will the SIPSE internships be located? All SIPSE internships will in research laboratories at Southern Research. Southern Research is located in downtown Birmingham. To learn more about Southern Research and the work we do please visit our website at https://southernresearch.org/ Are the dates of the program flexible? My family and I plan to go on family vacation during one of the weeks of the program. Possibly. This is solely at the discretion of your sponsoring research mentor, and must be indicated on your application. The days in which you will be absent must be made up at the end of the program. All SIPSE fellows are required to complete the first week of the program as there will be essential safety training and Southern Research orientation that cannot be rescheduled. How many hours/week am I expected to work? We expect teachers to work between 30-40 hours/week. Your schedule is determined by your sponsoring research mentor. Most groups follow an 8-4 schedule. How are teachers selected? Following an initial screening process, we allow the research mentors to select their summer interns. They may select their intern based solely upon the submitted application or they may choose to select their intern through an interview process. What do the weekly professional development workshops focus on? We will host weekly Friday Lunch & Learn workshops throughout the course of the program. The Lunch & Learn series will offer guidance in developing your Action Plan, workshops focused on how to write grants for classroom resources, guest speakers, etc. Can I choose which research project I work on? We encourage you to indicate the research projects for which you wish to be considered in your application, but we cannot guarantee that you will be placed on that project. If you are interested in becoming a SIPSE fellow and have additional questions, please contact Dr. Kathryn Lanier, STEM Education and Outreach Director, at [email protected]. .