{"id":17861,"date":"2018-11-16T15:37:37","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T10:07:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/blog\/?p=17861"},"modified":"2018-11-19T10:09:56","modified_gmt":"2018-11-19T04:39:56","slug":"how-i-got-an-internship-at-khademhosseini-lab-a-joint-venture-of-harvard-and-mit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/internshala.com\/blog\/how-i-got-an-internship-at-khademhosseini-lab-a-joint-venture-of-harvard-and-mit\/","title":{"rendered":"How I got an internship at Khademhosseini Lab – a joint venture of Harvard & MIT"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"How-I-got-an-internship-at-Khademhosseini-Lab-a-joint-venture-of-Harvard-MIT\"<\/p>\n

About the Author:\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Siddharth Kumar Sah, a student of BITS Pilani KK Birla, Goa, shares how he secured an internship at Dr. Khademhosseini Lab at MIT.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Since my third year of college, I was inclined towards doing a research-based internship as I wanted to get my hands dirty on scientific work and learn how different things are built. So, I did what anyone would do in this situation – Google search! There were hundreds of websites and thousands of internships, and this paradox of choice confused me. The search turned out to be unproductive as I couldn\u2019t understand which internship profile would suit my interests and which research institute I should go for. While browsing the web cluelessly, I came across Internshala, and the one thing that attracted me to it was the way internships were listed on the platform. <\/span><\/p>\n

After my initial search on Internshala, I found an internship at IIT Bombay in the Department of Biosciences and Bioengineering. They were working on Lab-on-Chip and had collaborations with a few research labs overseas. This piqued my interest in the field, and I did a thorough research on it. Over a period of 4 months, I read several research papers and got a much clearer understanding of the subject. After months of research, I finally came across a topic which resonated with my interest in mechanical design and my knowledge of CAD, 3D printing, and bioinks. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the entire semester, I learnt more about the domain and kept looking for internship opportunities simultaneously. I applied to more than 100 labs and got around 10 confirmations. Out of all these confirmations, the internship at Khademhosseini Lab<\/strong>, a joint lab of Harvard University, MIT, and Brigham and Women\u2019s Hospital, was the most exciting. I had been following Dr. Ali Khademhosseini\u2019s work for a long time, and now I had the chance to work alongside him. I applied at the Khademhosseini Lab via an email in which I wrote about my knowledge and interest in Dr. Khademhosseini\u2019s work. The selection procedure for an internship at the lab was quite tedious. I submitted a statement of purpose followed by two interview rounds and a few written rounds. I was asked a lot of questions during the interview related to mechanical engineering and design; I was given a problem statement wherein I had to devise a mechanism for figuring out the stalling torque of a DC and stepper motor at any given RPM within a minute. I was also asked why I had done projects in so many varied domains.\u00a0<\/span>The week following the final interview made me restless because such institutions received thousands of applications from all across the globe. After waiting for 10 days, I received an email which read, \u2018Welcome to Khademhosseini Lab, Siddharth<\/em>\u2019. My joy knew no bounds; all the hard work had finally paid off! I was going to Harvard and MIT for my thesis!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The visa, accommodation, and paperwork process started. I had to get insurances, bank account statements, complete health checkup, and vaccinations along with other things asked of by the lab. I was given a coordinator by the lab who helped me with all the process. The visa interview was done and before I knew it, I had the visa of the\u00a0United States in my hands.\u00a0<\/span>My first day at work was like a dream. Walking in MIT, admiring the view, and finally, reaching the lab; for a moment, I had to assure myself that it was actually happening. I was handed a lab notebook, lab coat, learner’s batch, travel card, an ID card, and a Harvard card. This was followed by a brief introduction to Dr. Ali Khademhosseini and the teams; everyone in the lab was very welcoming. I was given a week\u2019s time to choose which subgroup I wanted to be associated with. After speaking to all the employees, I took an informed decision to join Dr. Shrike’s subgroup as it best suited my interests. I was responsible for mechanical design and rapid prototyping and developed four different projects viz. an inexpensive handheld 3D Bioprinter for treating spinal injuries, a Rapid Multi-Material Bio 3D printer device (RMB), using scanning projection stereolithography DMD, a compressed sensing-based image reconstruction in 3D micro-imaging tool, and a 3D printed Expansion Mini Microscopy (ExMM) platform for a low-cost diagnostic kit for detecting Malaria.\u00a0Dr. Shrike was a great leader and guided me throughout my internship. I learnt\u00a0great etiquette and protocol of research there.\u00a0During my internship, I also participated in several hackathons at Harvard Medical School, Boston University, Northeastern University,\u00a0and MIT.<\/span><\/p>\n

The lab was famous for its diversity; there were people from all across the world.\u00a0<\/span>We had a common area with couches where we shared lunch every day. I preferred cooking my own food rather than going to the MIT Student Centre. <\/span>We also organised parties every weekend at our apartments, wherein the host would decide the theme.\u00a0I made great friends and grew my professional network.\u00a0<\/span>When I look back, I know my career got a real boost there, and I even improved as a person.\u00a0<\/span>The journey that started with a simple search on Internshala ended with me experiencing the work and fun at MIT. I would like to conclude by saying that hard work pays, and it pays you well.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inspired by Siddharth’s journey at MIT? Are you also looking for a way to follow your passion? Well, the wait is over! Register<\/a> on Internshala now and take charge of your career!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n