Project Title: Overcoming persistent post-concussive symptoms using a mindfulness-based integrative approach combined with noninvasive brain stimulation
Project Contact: Dr. Hsueh-Sheng Chiang (hchiang3@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Clinical Research
Academic Level: College Undergraduate Students, College Graduate Students, Medical Students
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: Our proposal addresses this unmet need to improve whole person health by testing the feasibility of a multimodal intervention that combines mindfulness-based training, cognitive-behavioral and compensatory strategies, and home-based transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS).
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Project Title: Human Sleep, Health and Recovery
Project Contact: Dr. Janet Mullington (jmulling@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science Research
Academic Level: Medical Student
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: Research related to the group's interest in biomarkers of sleep deficiency, host defense mechanisms and recovery processes. In addition, the group is interested in women's health and pain; and also, the post-infectious syndromes and how they are related to sleep. The student project will be developed in collaboration with the research team and based on studies recently completed or ongoing. Every summer we have projects running that lend themselves well to student ancillary projects, that may involve analyzing a data set in a new way, adding a measure to an ongoing study, investigating an aspect of a study that was already planned, and/or adding your own twist to it. Do reach out to discuss specific opportunities and how that may fit with your interests.
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Project Title: Responsible/Interpretable AI for Science
Project Contact: Dr. Chenxi Qiu (cqiu@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science Research/Translational Research
Status: Full-time
Work Modality: Full-time
Academic Level: College Undergraduate Student, Medical Student
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: We are building AI systems that combine fleets of specialized agents with carefully engineered scientific harnesses to accelerate biological discovery. These systems autonomously interrogate large functional-genomic datasets, develop and test predictive models, and iteratively refine scientific hypotheses under human oversight. One example is our recent participation in the Virtual Cell Challenge, where we used a multi-agent system to approach complex biological questions and explore the potential of AI to drive scientific discovery. Our broader goal is to develop AI that functions as a rigorous scientific collaborator, to help uncover biological rules and generate discoveries that conventional workflows may miss.
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Project Title: Development of therapeutic antibody for vascular dementia
Project Contact: Dr. Chenxi Qiu (cqiu@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science Research/Translational Research
Status: Full-time
Work Modality: Full-time
Academic Level: College Undergraduate, College Graduate, Medical Student, PhD
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: We have been developing a therapeutic antibody targeting cis P-tau, a pathogenic tau conformation in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia and traumatic brain injury. The project will evaluate the efficacy of the cis P-tau antibody in cell culture and mouse models.
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Project Title: Neurobiology of REM Sleep
Project Contact: Dr. Vetrivelan Ramalingam (vramalin@bidmc.harvard.edu)
Research Type: Basic Science and Translational Research
Status: Flexible (full-time or part-time options available)
Work Modality: In-Person
Academic Level: Undergraduate, Graduate, Medical Student
Pay: Unpaid
Project Description: Rapid eye movement (REM) sleep is a distinct sleep state during which vivid dreams occur. This stage of sleep plays a critical role in emotional processing and several cognitive functions. Several neuropsychiatric disorders, including major depression, bipolar disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, are associated with severe dysregulation of REM sleep, but the underlying neural mechanisms are not well understood. The major goal of the project is to identify the neural circuit dysfunction responsible for REM sleep abnormalities in such disorders. The student who works on this project will be able to learn and apply advanced conditional genetic tools (e.g., optogenetics, chemo genetics, photometry) and behavioral techniques in animal models to study this complex problem.
