Current and Past Recipients

Miller Internship Award: Current Recipients (2016)

Olivia Doyle ’16
Major: Psychology, Neuroscience (minor)
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

I just graduated with a degree in Psychology and a minor in Neuroscience. I will be interning this summer at OHSU in the Fair Neuroimaging Lab. I am incredibly excited and grateful for this opportunity to gain experience in neuroscience research. I will be working on a research project focused on examining the brain of children with Autism. Using fMRI imaging, I will look at differences in connections in the brain of children with Autism and ADHD. I am very excited to learn more about neuroimaging and the scientific research environment. 

Laura Voss ’17
Major: Biochemistry
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

My name is Laura Voss and I am a rising senior biochemistry and molecular biology major. I will be interning at the Galbraith Lab at OHSU. My project specifically  focuses on outlining the parameters for two-color imaging using super-resolution microscopy techniques, such as dSTORM and PALM. This will be my second summer at the Galbraith Lab and I’m very excited to return!

Rayna Gasik ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Hi, I’m a Junior Biology Major from Central Point Oregon. I’ll be working for the second summer in a row in Paul Barnes’ lab at OHSU. I will be studying the role of a protein called Rab7 in brain development using mice as models. I will be using techniques I learned last summer as well as learning new ones. I’m excited to be able to dive further and deeper into mt research this year!

Lindsay Parmelee ’17
Major: Biochemistry
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

My name is Lindsay Parmelee, I’m a Biochemistry and Molecular Biology major graduating in the spring of 2017. This summer I’ll working on a research project at the Vaccination and Gene Therapy Institute of OHSU in the Flavivirus lab under Dr. Alec Hirsch. I will be cloning Zika virus proteins and determining protein expression and function with in a cell. I’m excited to learn more about flaviviruses and molecular cloning.

Madeleine Matheis ’17
Major: Psychology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had an interest in psychology and how the brain functions, and so I hope to go on to graduate school for behavioral neuroscience. This summer, I will be working at OHSU in the ADHD lab as a volunteer research assistant. I will be helping with a variety of research projects on attention and ADHD in children of a wide range of ages and learning to administer neuropsychological tests. I am thrilled for the opportunity the Miller Award has given me to work as a research assistant during my undergrad as well as learn skills and meet people that will help me advance in my career after I graduate next year.

Nellie Trenga-Schein ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: University of Exeter Cornwall

I am a rising senior, Biology major and pre-medical student. While writing a review paper for an Evolution course this past fall I found myself focusing on several papers published by Dr. Ben Longdon. I reached out to Dr. Longdon to enquire about a summer internship in his lab. Dr. Longdon was incredibly receptive; he gave me the challenge of designing a project based on prior research and my interests. In collaboration with Dr. Buckling and Dr. Klümper, we have constructed a project that will investigate how bacterial host phylogeny determines the rate at which a plasmid (tetracycline resistance conferring plasmid pKJK5) can transfer to new hosts from an Escherichia coli donor stain, and the resultant fitness effects imposed by the plasmid. This project incorporates my passion for medical research, phylogenetics, and evolutionary biology. I am incredibly excited about this opportunity to work in England with Dr. Longdon, whose research has inspired me.

Grace Lawley ’17
Major: Math
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

This summer I will be interning at OHSU’s Center for Spoken Language Understanding where I will be working on a project on language patterns in autism spectrum disorders.  In particular, I will be working on the creation and application of algorithms for extracting certain autism-specific features from transcripts of interviews with children with autism. I hope to pursue further study of linguistics and computer science after graduating and I am very grateful to have the opportunity to participate in research in these fields this summer.

Nathaniel Klimpert ’16
Major: Biology
Internship: Portland State University Herbarium

An herbarium is a collection of dried and preserved plants used for scientific study. This summer I will be continuing my work from my fall independent study in learning how to organize and maintain an herbarium collection and apply it to research. I will be interning at the Portland State Herbarium, collecting and preserving plants, and putting their associated information into online databases. I will also be coordinating some of my work at PSU with the Herbarium at Lewis and Clark, continuing to build a strong relationship between the two collections so that future students can maintain and cultivate the LC collection.I am excited to be involved in this project as it will be an invaluable experience for a future career in botanical research.

Jacob Fong-Gurzinsky ’17
Major: Biology, History
Internship: Burke Museum

I am a Biology and History double major and I am going into my senior year at Lewis & Clark. My internship this summer will be at the Burke Museum in Seattle, Washington. I will be working with their Malacology (Mollusks) Collection. I am really looking forward to learning more about the art of maintaining such a large natural history collection and making it useful to scientific researchers. I am very thankful for this opportunity to gain experience in working at a natural history museum.

Katherine Delgado ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

I’m Katherine Delgado, a rising senior majoring in Biology. This summer I will be interning in the Chen lab at OHSU. The Chen lab’s research is focused around electron microscopy and protein imaging. I will be working alongside the team and utilizing techniques such as DNA isolation, protein chromatography, various assays, and hopefully get to use the electron microscope! I’m very excited for this opportunity and look forward to a great summer.

Hannah Rempel ’16
Major: Biology
Internship: STINAPA Bonaire

II am an aspiring marine ecology researcher with a passion for investigating trophic interactions and sharing the aquatic world with those inside and outside the scientific community. This summer I will be working as the Monitoring and Outreach Intern for STINAPA, the non-governmental, not-for-profit national parks foundation for Bonaire, Dutch Caribbean. I will assist STINAPA biologists and education coordinators in conducting coral reef, seagrass and shorebird surveys, various office duties such as data entry and analysis, as well as carrying out nature-related outreach activities such as Shark Week and Junior Rangers events. I believe that such a unique, focused, and hands-on research opportunity as a post-undergraduate will help me build a strong foundation to pursue a career in marine ecology. I am grateful to the Miller Award committee for investing in our future, and helping enable students like myself to pursue their passion for the sciences.

Morgan Long ’18
Major: Biology
Internship: University of Minnesota

This summer I will be working in a biomechanics lab at the University of Minnesota that studies shoulder impingement through different imaging techniques. The researchers use electromagnetic sensors that can be seen in MRIs. These images are then put through computer programs that translate the images into 3-D models. As a pre-med student, this research aligns really well with my career goals, and I am super stoked to have this opportunity!

Morganne Sigismonti ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: San Diego U.S. Geological Survey

Hello! My name is Morganne Sigismonti and I am a rising senior Biology major and transfer student. I am particularly interested in Wildlife and Outdoor Biology. I am very interested in working in the field, with other experts, studying animals and their environment, and making a difference in the health and well-being of this planet in a small or large way. This summer I will be interning with the San Diego United States Geological Survey (USGS) under Biologist Christopher Brown to conduct fieldwork on the endangered Arroyo Toad and Western Pond Turtle projects. I will have the opportunity to aid in daytime and nighttime visual encounter surveys of the endangered Arroyo Toad as well as daytime and trapping surveys of the Western Pond Turtle. I will also practice radio telemetry and mark/recapture field techniques as well as data analysis. This internship will allow me to explore Wildlife Biology outside of the classroom and introduce me to a community of Biologists in San Diego.  I am very excited and grateful for this opportunity to immerse myself in field work.

Sina Heng ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: Pasteur Institute

This coming summer of 2016, I will be interning in the Malaria Molecular Epidemiology department of Pasteur Institute in Cambodia. My project focuses on Plasmodium falciparum and antimalarial drug resistance, which is an on-going issue in the country and many others, especially those in the Tropics. This is my first time working in a research lab outside of classroom and school curriculum. I am looking forward explore, learn and share my knowledge and interest with science fellows as well as those in my own community.  I am very thankful for Pasteur institute and Miller internship award for offering me this opportunity.

Eliza Kronenberger ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: OHSU

This summer I will be interning at a molecular biology and biochemistry lab at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, OR. Over the coming weeks I will perfect my manuscript focused on the apparatus that I heavily assisted in building and designing—the electrospray ionization cryo-plunging system—and perform any remaining tests necessary to support my work in hopes of being published. I will continue to learn useful techniques for specimen imaging and will be properly trained on one of OHSU’s Tecnai Transmission Electron Microscopes so that I can be even more independent with my specimen imaging. I hope that this experience will build networks and boost my confidence and professionalism in a complex lab environment.

Past Recipients

Sylvia Nkombo Nkoula ’16
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Internship: Congolese Foundation for Medical Research

Tara Kugelman ’15
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) 

Simon Duindam ’15
Major: Psychology, Religious Studies
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Laura Voss ’17
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Evan Roche ’17
Major: Computer Science and Mathematics, Economics (minor)
Internship: Lewis-Peacock Cognitive Neuroscience Lab

Rayna Gasik ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Grace Shaw ’17
Major: Biology
Internship: Research

Bradley Lezak ’16
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Anri Ryan ’17
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Internship: Sayo-Art LLC

Rachel Vershel ’16
Major: Physics
Internship: OMSI

Emily Bright ’18
Major: Chemistry or Biochemistry
Internship: OMSI

Liz Growdon ’16
Major: Psychology
Internship: Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU)

Nicholas Gibbs ’17
Major: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Internship: Forbes Norris MDA/ALS Research and Treatment Cente