Westmount Secondary School student Grace Lee is one of 15 teenagers awarded a summer internship to explore the world of research, medicine and health care through the Secondary School Health Research Bursary Awards program, hosted by Hamilton Health Sciences in partnership with McMaster University.

Teens “research” careers through HHS summer internships

Meet four students and their mentors:

Charis Cui, 17

“Entering this internship, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about surgery other than what I watched on Grey’s Anatomy. But now I’m thinking I might like to become a doctor.” 

Hillfield Strathallan graduate Charis Cui is heading to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania this fall to attend Carnegie Mellon, a private research university.

Grade 12 graduate Charis Cui and Dr. Pablo Serrano chat about her research internship experience learning about complex cancers.

Cui is a summer intern at HHS Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre, paired with researchers studying liver, gallbladder and bile duct cancers, and health-care teams caring for these patients. These serious and complex cancers have high mortality rates, making research into new treatments vital for this patient population.

Cui is considering a career in the more technical side of science, such as molecular biology. But job shadowing HHS surgeon Dr. Pablo Serrano has piqued her interest in a career in medicine.

“Entering this internship, I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about surgery other than what I watched on Grey’s Anatomy,” she says. “But now I’m thinking I might like to become a doctor.”

Cui joined Serrano when he met with patients who have cancer to discuss their upcoming surgeries, and provide post-surgery updates and care. She was especially moved by his compassion, knowledge and professionalism. “I could tell that his patients felt really safe with him,” she says.

As part of Cui’s internship, she’s invited to attend one of Serrano’s surgeries. “I’m really excited about that,” she says.

Serrano welcomes opportunities to show high school students the world of cancer care and research. “It’s very rewarding for me, as a physician, to see how keen and interested these students are to learn.”

It’s also highly motivating for the students, with several former interns returning to HHS to work in research and health care. “The program inspired them, and created a connection to HHS,” says Serrano.

Katherine Birchenough, 17

“This internship experience has really broadened my horizons.” 

Katherine Birchenough is entering Grade 12 at Oakville Trafalgar High School in the fall. She’s spending her summer at HHS Hamilton General Hospital and the David Braley Research Institute, exploring careers in research and medicine related to critical care and sepsis.

Grade 12 student Katherine Birchenough and one of her HHS mentors, Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud

Birchenough learned about the program from her sister, who was awarded a summer internship seven years ago and is now in medical school. Birchenough also has her sights set on becoming a doctor, but the summer internship program has sparked her interest in research.

Her mentors include Dr. Alison Fox-Robichaud, a critical care physician and researcher, a national expert in sepsis and scientific director of Sepsis Canada. She is also the HHS chair in sepsis research.

Fox-Robichaud has mentored a high school summer intern every year since the program started in 2004. “It’s my way of paying it forward,” says Fox-Robichaud, who was about Birchenough’s age when she started working in a research lab as a summer student. This work experience inspired Fox-Robichaud to pursue a career as a doctor and clinician researcher.

Birchenough’s internship at HHS Hamilton General Hospital includes a scoping review of sepsis education in Canadian schools, from Grades 1 to 12. A scoping review is standardized evaluation of the available literature which can inform gaps in researchers’ knowledge, future research opportunities and policy. Birchenough is also learning survey methodology by helping develop surveys about critical care research globally. “This internship experience has really broadened my horizons,” Birchenough says.

Stephanie Chan, 17

“I want to explore everything in order to gain as much experience as possible and see which areas of medicine and health care I’m most interested in.”

Stephanie Chan graduated from North York’s Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute in June and will study life sciences at University of Toronto this fall. She learned about the internship program while looking into summer research opportunities online and was successful in earning a place at HHS Hamilton General Hospital with a research group in the Department of Neurosurgery.

Grade 12 graduate Stephanie Chan (right) prepares for standing in on a surgery, with help from HHS research coordinator Jessy Moore.

Chan’s internship includes job shadowing HHS researchers, reading scientific articles and compiling findings, and entering data for various neurosurgical studies that HHS neurosurgeon Dr. Kesh Reddy’s team is working on.

She also job shadowed Reddy and attended several of his patient clinics and surgeries.

“Seeing the teamwork between Dr. Reddy and his team, other specialties, and staff in the operating room was truly amazing and inspiring,” says Chan, who has been fascinated with brain disorders and diseases since grade school when she volunteered at a seniors’ centre.

“Witnessing the effects of dementia on some of the older adults I had engaged with is what sparked my interest in the brain and motivated me to learn more about the pathology behind diseases like Alzheimer’s,” says Chan, who has also volunteered at a children’s rehabilitation hospital, where patients had experienced acquired brain injuries. She has since taken a particular interest in malignant brain tumours.

“I want to explore everything in order to gain as much experience as possible and see which areas of medicine and health care I’m most interested in,” says Chan, whose mentors include HHS research coordinator Jessy Moore.

“I enjoy mentoring the high school students each summer, it’s certainly a fun part of my job,” says Moore. “I’m always impressed by their insightful questions and how curious they are.”

Grace Lee, 16

“I didn’t expect to do so much hands-on work. It’s even more exciting than I expected.”

Grace Lee will enter Grade 12 at Westmount Secondary School in the fall. She’s spending her summer at the Raha Lab at HHS McMaster University Medical Centre, where Dr. Sandeep Raha and his team are studying the effects of cannabis on the placenta and fetal development in pregnancy.

Grade 12 student Grace Lee with one of her mentors, Dr. Sandeep Raha, at the Raha Lab in HHS McMaster University Medical Centre.

“Some pregnant people use cannabis to alleviate stress, morning sickness and nausea yet little is known about the cellular processes that may be affected, and how this may be helpful or harmful,” says Raha, who has welcomed high school interns to his lab for the past 12 summers.

“I love being around enthusiastic learners,” says Raha. “They’re highly motivated and their enthusiasm drives me.”

Students learn basic skills and fundamental principles of research. “For example, we taught Grace how to grow cells,” says Raha.

Lee says she’s enjoying learning more about research, including trying her hand at RNA extractions and cell cultures. “It’s really interesting and fun,” she says. “I didn’t expect to do so much hands-on work. It’s even more exciting than I expected.”

Related Posts

Inspiring the next generation of doctors, health-care professionals and researchers HHS surgeon’s award-winning technology teaches surgical skills, worldwide Curiosity, caring inspire nursing careers Mother, aunt, grandmother inspire HHS nursing careers Physiotherapy, occupational therapy students gain valuable work experience RT externs help patients breathe easier