Internship Program

The Malone Center for Engineering in Healthcare’s (MCEH) Internship Program offers engineering undergraduate and graduate students a unique opportunity to gain knowledge and real-life experience in the field of engineering in healthcare. Student interns work on research projects under the direction of professional engineers, faculty members, and clinicians. The program is also intended to lay the groundwork for meaningful and lasting partnerships between MCEH, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI), and industry partners.

Please note: Internships through the Malone Center are only open to Hopkins-affiliated students and trainees.

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Current Internship Postings

The Malone Center for Center for Engineering and Johns Hopkins Hospital Data Science Internship

See the PDF version of the posting >>

Position Summary: We are seeking an enthusiastic data science intern interested in applying mathematical and computational techniques to solve real-world problems in medicine. This internship is a three-way collaboration between the Whiting School of Engineering, the School of Medicine, and the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The student is expected to work collaboratively with clinical and technical faculty and staff within the Center for Community and Global Health (CCGHE). CCGHE is focused on improving health and equity, locally and abroad, through infectious disease research, training, advocacy, and service. CCGHE uses data-driven methods, including large-scale electronic health record (EHR) data extraction, data wrangling, research database building, machine learning, optimization, simulation, and advanced data visualization techniques. Current projects include increasing access to care for low-income immigrants, equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines, understanding the epidemiology of diabetes and other chronic diseases in the Latino immigrant community, and more. The data science intern will be directly engaged with the data science pipeline (from EHR and survey data extraction to modeling to decision support systems) used to support and drive ongoing initiatives within the Johns Hopkins Health System and beyond. Their work will be critical to the success of the team. The student can expect an experience similar to a lab rotation and exposure to operational and clinical workflows relevant to translational medical research. Before arrival, each data science intern will receive multiple papers related to their assigned project. The goal of the student’s project and its relationship to other work in the area will be discussed. The student will be provided with detailed guidance needed to conduct data analysis and will work under the supervision of experienced engineers, clinicians, and public health researchers at CCGHE. The internship will start as soon as possible and is expected to last at least 6 months. There is a possibility of extension depending on the performance of the student.

Benefits for the Student: This internship is ideally suited to students with strong analytic skills and an interest in pursuing a medically oriented career in industry or academia. Interns will acquire theoretical and practical training in advancing the practice of medicine and healthcare delivery using data science and systems engineering, with a particular focus on EHR and survey data. The data science intern will be embedded within CCGHE, a center that includes experts from infectious diseases, industrial engineering, health behavior, society, and policy—all focused on improving care delivery for vulnerable individuals. Their team has created meaningful cross-disciplinary partnerships and developed novel tools that enhance the practice of infectious diseases, including an improved approach to risk stratification and more accurate identification of risk factors for diabetes and deteriorating mental health. Experiences gained will be highly informative and advantageous to students who plan to pursue further training (Master’s, PhD, or MD) or work in this arena after graduation, including ample opportunity for writing peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Compensation: Commensurate with experience.

Specific duties:

Work closely with study leads and data manager to set up quality assurance systems, including longitudinal randomized controlled trials, implementation trials, medical record data, and pilot studies with small samples
Conduct analyses related to descriptive statistics and epidemiology, intervention effects, moderation, mediation, and psychometric evaluation, including multivariate analyses and casual inferences
Design and produce quality data visualizations
Assist study PIs and others in summarizing and preparing data findings for publication in peer-reviewed manuscripts and presentations

Required Education: Undergraduate or master’s students in applied mathematics, civil & systems engineering, applied math, computer science, biomedical engineering, biostatistics, epidemiology, or relevant fields—no previous research/industry experience required.

Desired knowledge, skills, and abilities:

High-level communication skills
Strong critical thinking and analytical reasoning skills
Proficiency with multiple programming languages (including R, SAS, STATA, SQL, or REDCap)
Proficiency in data and statistical learning (regression, moderation, mediation, and psychometric evaluation, ML-based classification or clustering, survival analysis)
Ability to execute assigned project tasks within an established schedule
Sound documentation skills (writes and communicates clearly and concisely)
Prior experience in healthcare-oriented research desired but not necessary

Application Process: Please send your resume, a one-page cover letter (describing relevant course work, research experience, and/or plans about industry/research career) and contact info for one professional reference. Email applications to Dr. Diego A Martínez at [email protected] with the subject line “MCEH Internship Application.”

Application deadline: May 31, 2023 or until the position is filled.

Anticipated start date: As soon as possible/negotiable.

For intern hosts

We invite Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions (JHMI) departments and industry representatives to partner with us and host a student intern. We are committed to working closely with our intern hosts to meet the objectives of the internship.

Why host an intern?

The benefits of partnering with MCEH to provide internships are many:

A year-round source of motivated student -workers
Great way to recruit for and support project work, temporary and/or busy positions
An opportunity to identify and train potential future employees
A way to bring new ideas, skills, and points of view to old and new problems
Well-prepared, short-term assistance to support faculty project work/ employees so they can pursue new projects

What are the expectations for an intern host?

The faculty member or department staff member requesting the intern is responsible for assigning, or will be considered themselves, a direct supervisor of the intern. Additionally, MCEH will assign an in-house mentor to each intern, to help them solve complex engineering challenges, if any are encountered during the internship. The MCEH mentor could be a staff engineer or a faculty member.

MCEH will provide administrative help with interns’ recruitment, hiring and payroll (when applicable) or credit arrangements. The direct supervisor is responsible for creating and following the internship plan, to include:

Intern orientation
Project(s) description
Learning objectives
Reading materials
Daily responsibilities and long-term assignments
Intern off-boarding, including reference letters

The supervisor is also responsible to track the intern’s work time and confirm worked hours by signing the intern’s time sheets, when relevant. Supervisors are expected to provide four-week and end-of-internship evaluations. They will also provide reference letters, if requested by the intern.

How will the position be advertised?

MCEH staff will work together with the entity requesting an intern to create the internship posting, advertise the posting to relevant Hopkins departments, and collect applications. Upon reaching the application deadline, all applications will be forwarded to the internship host, who will select and interview candidates, and make the final decision on the top candidate.

Sample Forms:

Sample Internship Posting

Intern Time Sheet

Internship Evaluation Form

How do I become an intern host?

Please send an email inquiry to discuss the next steps!

For student interns

Why intern with the Malone Center?

We offer many exciting opportunities for Hopkins students who want to develop relevant skills in a collaborative, dynamic and fast-paced environment. Our interns gain real, meaningful experience working alongside professional engineers and clinicians. Benefits include:

You’ll receive real world experience in the medical and/or research engineering worlds.
You’ll acquire sought after and valued practical skills (on-job training) that will assist in your future career search.
You’ll experience first-hand the work load and environment in possible employment locations.
You’ll experience first-hand the work load and environment in possible employment locations.
You’ll get an opportunity to network and have direct interactions (informational interviewing) with key personnel.
You’ll build your resume.
You may receive course credit or make some money during breaks/intersession/semesters.

General Internship Requirements

The MCEH Internship Program is best-suited for engineering students who are interested in medicine. A background in pre-med or some experience with medicine is a plus but not required. Please carefully review the specific requirements for each posted position before applying.

* The MCEH Internship Program requires that all student interns create a poster reflecting the work they completed during the internship. They must present the poster at the Annual Johns Hopkins Research Symposium on Engineering in Healthcare in November.

Questions?

If you have questions about the internship program or would like to inquire about future internship opportunities, please contact us.

Hear from past interns:

I highly recommend this internship. You will make a difference and design your project. The mentor will never waste your time on trivial and unimportant things. After several months, you will sharpen your analytical skills and interpersonal skills, and you may even get a position with Johns Hopkins!

– Jiarui Cai

Internship: Data Science Intern at Johns Hopkins Health System
Major: Applied Mathematics and Statistics

Describe your responsibilities at the internship:

At the internship, I focused on one big Infusion Pump Movement Detection Project. This project aims to detect the movement pattern and create a re-distribute system for an infusion pump, to balance the inventory of pumps in Johns Hopkins Health System. My duties included organizing data, modeling, testing hypotheses, writing reports, visualization, and presenting results and analysis. I had a wonderful chances to work closely with engineers, administrates, front-line workers and nurses.

What was your big takeaway from your internship?

Besides analytical skills and knowledge, the most valuable thing I learned was how to work in a team environment with people from different backgrounds. My coworkers and clients include data scientists, engineers, administrators, nurses, physicians, and faculty. Most of them had different experience than me and did not have a mathematical background. Communication and building relationships with everyone was one of the hardest parts of my internship but also the most rewarding.

What is your current position? How are your applying what you learned during the internship in your current role?

I got a return offer after my internship. I now works as a data science resident in JHMS. I am doing very similar projects, and the difference is I have multiple projects running at the same time, instead of focusing on one project.

Would you recommend this internship to another student? Why?

I highly recommend this internship. You will make a difference and design your project. The mentor will never waste your time on trivial and unimportant things. After several months, you will sharpen your analytical skills and interpersonal skills, and you may even get a position with Johns Hopkins!

Hear From past interns:

Our project had many moving parts and it required me to work with people in Chile, physicians, professors, etc. Sometimes, I needed to explain data science to people who don’t understand the field at all. I had to learn how to translate data science language to a common language so everyone could understand the work. Learning how to present information to these different groups was important experience for me.

– Haoxiang Zhang

Internship: Data Science Intern at Johns Hopkins Health System Operations Integration
Major: Applied Mathematics and Statistics

Describe your responsibilities at the internship:

I worked on a project that aimed to better understand the factors that contribute to higher mortality rates for patients on elective surgery waiting lists in Chile.

First, we spent a good deal of time doing a literature review and learning more about what others have done with this problem. Then, we acquired data sets from healthcare centers in three different Chilean cities . We had to clean and manipulate the data to group patients for modeling purposes. Finally, we built a model for each city that can analyze the risk factors (age, disease, etc.) that contribute to higher mortality rates.

Our model can inform healthcare providers and policy-makers on how they can better prioritize patients on these waiting lists. For example, first-come, first-serve may not be the best policy. And if the model shows that mortality rates are high for a particular patient population, they can take action to address that problem. Currently, we’re finishing a paper and will publish our results soon.

Describe What is your current position? How are your applying what you learned during the internship in your current role?

Currently, I’m a Data Insights Intern at SECU Credit Union, the largest credit union in Maryland. I’m doing similar work but I’m tackling a whole new project. During my interview, SECU asked me a lot of questions about my JHHS internship experience. I think the experience I gained at JHHS helped me get my current internship.

What was your big takeaway from your internship?

My mentor emphasized critical thinking. For example, don’t just do what you are asked to do – but think deeply about what the project needs. Before this internship, I thought programming and modeling was the most difficult part of a data science project. But during this internship, I learned that the preparation before the modeling – the literature review, collecting and manipulating the data – is actually the most challenging part.

Our project had many moving parts and it required me to work with people in Chile, physicians, professors, etc. Sometimes, I needed to explain data science to people who don’t understand the field at all. I had to learn how to translate data science language to a common language so everyone could understand the work. Learning how to present information to these different groups was important experience for me.

What did you enjoy most about working with your internship mentors?

My mentor, Diego Martinez, always motivated me to work harder. This was the first time that I worked on a data science project from beginning to end. Diego offered me guidance but he didn’t just tell me what to do – he asked me questions and valued my input and feedback. In addition to the project, Diego also took time to teach me about the broader field of data science.