The UNC Nutrition Research Institute (NRI) is helping mold the scientific minds of tomorrow by offering unique opportunities for undergraduate college students to work in laboratories directly with our faculty investigators and their research staffs. Through the NRI internship program, undergraduates not only learn about our advanced precision nutrition science but assist with hands-on endeavors.
Internships may be with bench or clinical researchers. When applying, students are encouraged to review the work of each of our faculty members to find research that piques their interests. By applying with intention, students can be placed with researchers whose work can contribute to a student’s educational and career trajectories.
“Working with Dr. Voruganti at the NRI as an intern was a very valuable experience. It allowed me to learn how science is applied in real life scenarios, and it taught me the value of teamwork and how a scientific lab operates,” said Alex Holt, UNC class of 2025.
Unpaid student internships may be short-term immersion or semester-long learning experiences. We work with your higher-ed institution to help you earn class credit when possible.
For high school students, the NRI offers its Virtual Internship Program (VIP). This 4-week, online-only program gives students the opportunity to learn from NRI investigators, participate in group mentoring sessions, and complete an independent nutrition research project and presentation. All sessions will be via Zoom. VIP is offered in the summer for current and rising high school students. The 2022 session has a few spaces remaining. Read more about VIP.
You can learn more about our internship program here. If you are or know of a student who would be interested in this program, you can find the application here.
