High School Intern​/Ambassador Position

Position: 2026-2027 High School Intern/Ambassador Position
2026 - 2027 High School Intern / Ambassador Position

The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) is an internationally renowned non-profit research institute dedicated to the study and application of systems biology. Founded in 2000 in Seattle, Washington, ISB´s goal is to unravel biological complexity by deciphering vast amounts of data in order to gain valuable insights and achieve breakthroughs across scientific disciplines.

We are offering 4 opportunities for high school students. The application process for each of these opportunities is the same. When completing the Google form portion of the application you will be prompted to indicate which of these experiences you are most interested in. The deadline for application is 4:00pm Pacific Time on Wednesday, March 11, 2026. No late applications will be accepted.

Timeline for applying and notifications:

* Mid-January:
Application window opens. Use this To-do Checklist to guide you as you prepare and submit your materials.

* March 11:
Application window closes promptly at 4:00 pm Pacific Time. Late applications will not be accepted.

* March 12 - April:
Application Review. You will be contacted at least two times throughout this time period by email. Please make sure to set your email client to mark emails from "isbscience.org" and "systemsbiology.org" as important and not spam or promotions. If you do not know how to do that, please see this page.

* If your application was completely submitted (all parts were received and thoroughly completed), you will receive an email inviting you to sign up for a "Systems are Everywhere" 2-hour workshop.

* You will be contacted again by the end of April regarding the status of your application.

* * April 15 - May 31:
Phone interviews, video interviews, Q&A Sessions, and informal offers

* June: Formal offer letters sent to selected applicants

Brief Position Descriptions:

1) Systems Thinkers in STEM Ambassadorship (STiSA)

Current 10th and 11th graders can apply for STiSA. All applicants who complete the full application will be accepted into STiSA and can choose whether or not to participate. You can participate in both STiSA and either the internship or DREAM-High, should you be selected. As a STiSA participant, you will first be invited to attend a 2-hour, virtual workshop: "Systems are Everywhere."

You will learn about systems modeling and how systems thinking is used in research and careers. You will then have the opportunity to enroll in one of two virtual micro-courses: "Introduction to Systems Medicine" or "Environmental Systems, Research, and Stewardship." From there, you will be invited to participate in other courses including the final virtual micro-course of the series, "Learning in Motion:
Taking Action in Your Community." These workshops will be held several times throughout the summer. The invitation to these workshops will come to the email address you share with us in your application materials. After you attend a 2-hour workshop, you will be invited to join an interactive Slack channel. This will allow you to stay connected with other ambassadors, and to our team so you can hear about upcoming opportunities to advance your systems thinking in STEM.

These opportunities will be a combination of virtual and in-person offerings that you can participate in according to your interest and availability. As a STiSA participant, you will also be eligible to join one of our LEADS Cohorts. This is a free program. See this page for more info on STiSA and this page for more info on LEADS.

2) 8-Week Summer Internship for Rising Seniors

Current 11th graders only are eligible for ISB's 8-week (~300 hours) in-person summer internship. This summer's possible internship topics include but are not limited to: computational biology (which can include scenarios in health and/or the environment), cancer, microbiology (which includes microbial interactions, antimicrobial resistance, resilience and collapse of complex systems), engineering laboratory systems, technology development, the microbiome, infectious disease, immune system diversity, and aging and fragility.

All projects are aligned with a current ISB project which is driven by a mentor. Students will learn about systems biology and apply their learning to a research project. Depending on the project, students will also learn and/or deepen their understanding of scientific, engineering, math, coding, leadership and other professional and computer-based skills. All projects also include: a) interviewing ISB professionals to learn about various career paths, b) building a website that describes the internship project and experience, and c) helping out with school-based curriculum development if pertinent.

We will host 4-10 temporary High School Interns in the Baliga Lab and/or in other ISB Labs. The internship will begin on June 29 and end on August 21, 2026 (excluding July
4). The Interns will be at ISB up to 40 hours per week. Unpaid service learning and paid positions are available.

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