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# Research Training and Career Development in NIDCD Laboratories (Intramural)

**On this page:**
                        - Overview
                        - Laboratories at the NIDCD: Opportunities at All Career Stages                           - NIDCD Summer Interns

## Overview

The NIDCD’s Division of Intramural Research (DIR) conducts basic and clinical research in the institute’s mission areas: hearing, balance, taste, smell, voice, speech, and language. Our current intramural research portfolio also includes some areas related to communication disorders, such as head and neck cancer. Research training and career development opportunities in the DIR are available on the main NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. In general, our basic science laboratories and state-of-the-art core facilities are housed in the Porter Neuroscience Research Center, one of the largest neuroscience research buildings in the world. Our clinical and translational research programs are located within the NIH Clinical Center, the nation’s largest hospital completely devoted to clinical research.

All NIDCD researchers have extraordinary opportunities to leverage the extensive resources and expertise across the NIH Intramural Research Program to perform interdisciplinary and collaborative research from bench to bedside.

Individual NIDCD laboratories recruit trainees year-round at all levels—from high school students to postdoctoral fellows. You can find a full list of laboratories, programs, and research support services on the NIDCD Intramural Research Program page and the Scientific Faculty page. Interested trainees should contact principal investigators (PIs) directly to ask about opportunities in specific laboratories and programs. Trainees and others interested in auditory research can also apply for our annual week-long EARssentials course, which provides a free introduction to contemporary concepts and techniques in hearing research.

**Diversity and inclusion:** At the NIDCD, we have a clear vision: to be the place where a diverse mix of talented people do their best work. One way that the NIDCD exemplifies this commitment to building and sustaining a diverse research workforce is by providing a supportive training environment that provides everyone—regardless of race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or disability—with equitable and inclusive workspaces that are free from discrimination and harassment. All NIDCD intramural (on-campus) and extramural (off-campus) programs welcome a broad and diverse field of candidates. Intramural programs that focus specifically on applicants from diverse backgrounds (NIH definition) are noted below at each career stage.

**Background checks:** In order to be approved for logical and physical access to NIH facilities and systems, candidates must be able to pass a federal background check, using Standard Form-85 (204KB PDF). NOTE: Section 14 of the form asks, “In the last year, have you used, possessed, supplied, or manufactured illegal drugs?” The question pertains to the illegal use of drugs or controlled substances in accordance with federal laws, even though permissible under state laws.

**Staff Contact**
                        - **Elyssa Monzack, Ph.D.** , Deputy Scientific Director

## Laboratories at the NIDCD: Opportunities at All Career Stages

NIDCD Summer Interns

The NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP) provides an opportunity to spend a summer working at the NIDCD, side-by-side with some of the world’s leading scientists in auditory neuroscience. Opportunities are available for students in high school, college, and graduate school. Find internship opportunities below in the appropriate career section. Read about the experiences of recent summer interns.

High School and Undergraduate (College) Research Opportunities

View the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education (OITE) website and visual guide to learn about training programs across NIH that are available for high school and college students. Find out how to apply for high school summer internships, the Community College Summer Enrichment Program (CCSEP), the College Summer Opportunities to Advance Research (CSOAR) program, the Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP), the general Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research (for college students and above), and more.

If you are interested in research on communication disorders, learn more about labs in the NIDCD Intramural Research Program on the NIDCD Intramural Research Program page and the Scientific Faculty page. After submitting your application through the central NIH application portal, contact principal investigators (PIs) directly to inquire about training opportunities in specific laboratories.

**Programs with a diversity focus:** While all programs welcome a broad and diverse field of candidates, programs with a diversity focus include the High School Scientific Training and Enrichment Program (HiSTEP) and HiSTEP 2.0, the Community College Summer Enrichment Program (CCSEP), the College Summer Opportunities to Advance Research (C-SOAR) program, the Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP), and the AMGEN Scholars Program.

Postbaccalaureate (Post-College) Research Opportunities

The Postbaccalaureate Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) program is among the most popular training programs at the NIH. See the NIH Office of Intramural Training and Education website and visual guide to learn about how to apply for this program available to college graduates (those with a bachelor’s degree).

To learn more about labs in the NIDCD Intramural Research Program, visit the NIDCD Intramural Research Program page and the Scientific Faculty page. After submitting your application through the central NIH application portal, contact principal investigators (PIs) directly to inquire about training opportunities in specific laboratories.

**Programs with a diversity focus:** While all programs welcome a broad and diverse field of candidates, programs with a diversity focus include the NIH Academy on Health Disparities and the NIH-OITE Postbac Enrichment Program.

Graduate/Predoctoral Research Opportunities

Through the NIH Graduate Partnerships Program, graduate students may perform their dissertation research in an NIDCD intramural laboratory, as well as the NIDCD Audiology Unit, while enrolled in any university in the world.

The NIH Medical Scientist Partnership Program (FM1) supports highly promising predoctoral students during their mentored dissertation research and clinical training. Students must be matriculated in (a) a formal combined M.D./Ph.D. program or other combined-doctoral degree training program (e.g., Au.D./Ph.D.) or (b) a clinical doctoral degree program plus a separate accredited Ph.D. program at their clinical degree school or other university. Students conduct their clinical degree education at their home institution and the Ph.D. portion of their education/experience in research laboratories in the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP), including NIDCD’s Division of Intramural Research, through participation in the NIH Graduate Partnership Program.

Predoctoral (graduate student) training opportunities are also available through specific partnership programs with the University of Maryland and Howard University.

To learn more about labs in the NIDCD Intramural Research Program, visit the NIDCD Intramural Research Program page and the Scientific Faculty page. Contact principal investigators (PIs) directly to inquire about training opportunities in specific laboratories.

**Program with a diversity focus:**While all programs welcome a broad and diverse field of candidates, the Graduate Summer Opportunities to Advance Research (G-SOAR) Program has a diversity focus.

Postdoctoral Research Opportunities

The NIH is home to more than 3,000 postdoctoral fellows, creating a rich environment for research collaboration and career development. Postdoctoral training opportunities with federal funding are available across the NIDCD.

The NIDCD Robert Wenthold Postdoctoral Research Fellowship also provides funding, along with additional resources and an opportunity for cross-disciplinary training, with the goal of fostering independent research careers in the fields of deafness and other communication disorders.

To learn more about labs in the NIDCD Intramural Research Program, visit the NIDCD Intramural Research Program page and the Scientific Faculty page. Interested trainees should contact principal investigators (PIs) directly to inquire about postdoctoral opportunities in specific laboratories.

**Programs with a diversity focus:** While all programs welcome a broad and diverse field of candidates, programs with a diversity focus include the Robert Wenthold Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, as well as the K99/R00 MOSAIC Award: Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) Postdoctoral Career Transition Award to Promote Diversity and the NIGMS Postdoctoral Research Associate Training (PRAT) Program. Some of these funding opportunities may be but are not required to be pursued before a postdoctoral trainee joins an intramural laboratory.

Research Opportunities for Early-Career Investigators

The NIDCD Otolaryngology Surgeon-Scientist Program is a junior faculty career development program that enables the candidate to design and implement a plan integrating basic scientific and clinical research.

The NIH Lasker Clinical Research Scholars Program (Si2/R00 Clinical Trial Optional) supports research activities during the early careers of independent clinical researchers by offering a unique bridge between NIH intramural (on-campus) and extramural (off-campus) research.

**Programs with a diversity focus:** While all programs welcome a broad and diverse field of candidates, programs with a diversity focus include the Independent Research Scholar Program and the NIH Distinguished Scholars Program (also recruiting tenured investigators).

Other Training and Employment Programs

Project SEARCH is a diversity-focused program that provides education and training to young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The NIH, including the Clinical Center, offers a 30-week internship in collaboration with Project SEARCH. 

Extramural Research

NIDCD's extramural program supports fellowships, career development, and mentorship opportunities at universities and institutions nationwide.

February 1, 2024