THE 2026 APPLICATION OPENS in mid-January

Thank you for your interest in becoming a LEAH Youth Leader for Summer 2026! LEAH offers two distinct summer internships: The LEAH Knox Internship and The LEAH Daly Internship. This program is particularly well-suited for students interested in exploring a career in biology, biotechnology, or life sciences.

Please review the below descriptions to determine which internship feels like the best fit for you.

Position Summary

The following applies to BOTH internships.

LEAH Summer Internships are paid, 5-week programs designed to give high school students early access to and experience with laboratory research.

Other benefits of the program include:

• Option to participate in a STEM Teaching internship during the school year. Youth are trained to lead science activities in after-school programs. STEM Teaching internships are 6-8 hours a week and youth can earn up to $2000 based on their participation and attendance.
• Access to college visits, STEM career exploration opportunities, and additional academic support. 
• Option to get placed with a mentor who works in STEM. Youth leaders meet with their mentor monthly starting in the Fall of 2026 – Summer 2027.
• All participants who successfully complete the summer program and are engaged with staff during the school year will be eligible to participate in a paid internship opportunity the following summer in a research setting in the Boston area.

Who Can Be A LEAH Youth Leader?

To be eligible for either LEAH Summer Internship, students must be:

• At least 16 years old by July 6^th, 2026
• A current high school freshman, sophomore, or junior (seniors ineligible) 
• Demonstrate excitement for science
• Have completed a high school biology class, no previous lab or research experience is needed!
• Attend high school in Massachusetts within a 1 hours commute to Kendall Square Area in Cambridge by public transportation.
• Be a US citizen, permanent resident, or non-US citizen with employment authorization.
• Be available for the entire 5-week duration of the program. Students cannot be enrolled in other courses or programs, or commit to other employment, during program hours.
• Students with limited exposure to STEM are especially encouraged to apply.

What are the Time Commitments?

• You must be available to interview one of the following days in-person at LEAH’s Chinatown Office: April 14th or 21st for LEAH Daly / April 16th or 23rd for LEAH Knox.
• You must be available to participate in the internship from July 6^th– August 7^th. The commitment is Monday – Friday from 9:00 AM – 4:00 PM.
• You must commit to attending five 2-hour STEM-based events during the 2025-2026 school year. These take place at LEAH’s Chinatown office or at a local science or biotech companies.

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More about LEAH Daly:

LEAH Daly is a lab internship where interns apply biotechnology
tools and techniques to study plant, animal, insect and human genomics, human health and inherited diseases and explore the careers related to these studies. The lab portion of this internship takes place at the Biogen Community Lab in Kendall Square. The lab work is led by
instructors from MassBioEd.

As a LEAH Daly intern, you will explore different life sciences topics including drug development, genetics, and food/nutrition. You will learn lab techniques such as micro-pipetting, gel electrophoresis, PCR, and protein purification. The first two weeks of lab activities will be instructor-led. In final three weeks, you and your student partners will work independently on a specific project, with guidance from instructors. You will design the experiments, collect data, redesign experiments, if needed, and present your project at the symposium. You will also attend field trips to STEM companies and meet science professionals to learn about a variety of possible life sciences career paths.

LEAH Daly is a good fit for students who are excited to do experimental science, to explore the biotechnology industry and life sciences careers beyond patient care.

For questions about the lab work, please contact bioteach@massbioed.org.

More about LEAH Knox:

LEAH Knox is an integrated data science and biomedical research internship. LEAH Knox takes place in a university setting rather than an industry setting. This program meets in the MIT Biology building and lab work is led by MIT Biology faculty instructors and graduate student Teaching Assistants.

As a LEAH Knox intern, you will work on one major research project for most of the summer. You will collect a water sample from the Charles River and identify a strain of bacteria in that sample. You will learn molecular biology lab techniques to identify the bacteria, work with its DNA, and analyze its growth using data analysis techniques. You will do this lab work collaboratively with a partner and with guidance from instructors, but there is an emphasis on independent learning and lab work.

LEAH Knox is a good fit for students who prefer to work more independently and/or students who have an interest in the intersection of data science and biology.

Application Process

• This application will take approximately 45 to 60 minutes to complete. It includes four short answer questions (a minimum of 150 words each).
• All applicants need to be 16 years old or older by Monday July 6^th, 2026.
• A Recommendation form must be completed by a current/former science teacher. You will be asked to provide the name, school email address, job title, and school/organization of the recommender on this application. A recommendation form will then be sent to your recommender to complete by the end of the day April 3, 2026.
• You are required to upload your resume.
• You will apply to one of the two internships.
• You can save your application progress and continue where you left off.
• Applications and Recommendation forms are due March 31st at 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time.
• There will be group interviews held in-person in mid-April. Decisions will be sent out by May 1st.

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