Uintah Basin Student Research Internship Program

Work as a researcher for the summer

UINTAH BASIN STUDENT RESEARCH
INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Join a team of researchers at USU Uintah Basin this summer as they explore the answers to exciting questions.

Students will work with a faculty mentor at USU Uintah Basin for an eight-and-a-half-week, paid summer internship. During that time, students will make new discoveries and meet senior researchers from across the state of Utah.  

Four students will be selected for the program this summer. Students will be paid to work with a faculty-mentor and complete a summer research project. Students will design their research projects with faculty mentors and present their work to the Uintah Basin research community. This program will provide an opportunity for students to work USU Uintah Basin research faculty and meet potential employers in the Uintah Basin.

Interns must be at least 16 years old and have completed their junior year of high school. Preference will be given to students who are enrolled at USU Uintah Basin and have completed their first or second undergraduate year. 

2026 Program

Wednesday, June 3 - Thursday, July 30


2026 UBRI Application >>

*You will be prompted to select your research mentor preference on your application. Please rank the mentors from 1 to 3, with 1 being your first choice. You will also be asked to provide an unofficial transcript, a letter of recommendation, and a one-page essay describing why you want to participate in the UBRI program.

Dates & Deadlines:

Applications Open: Thursday, January 15
Applications Due: Thursday, March 19
Applicants Accepted: Friday, April 3

For more information, contact Shana at shana.geffeney@usu.edu or call (435) 722‑1784.

Research Program Options

Evolution and/or Ecology of Reptiles and Amphibians

Faculty Advisor: Charles Hanifin, PhD

Students working in Dr. Hanifin's lab will have the opportunity to work on projects related to the evolution and ecology of regional reptiles and amphibians. The primary focus of my research in 2026 will be projects associated with the detection of environmental DNA of reptiles and functional genomics and transcriptomics in salamanders. This work will likely be focused on lab work rather than fieldwork, but there will be some opportunities for fieldwork.

Ecology Projects

Faculty Advisor: Becky Williams, PhD

Interns in Dr. William's Ecology Lab have different project options. You might study the chemical ecology of blue-lined octopuses, which possess the deadly neurotoxin, tetrodotoxin (TTX). Alternatively, you could help me, and local state and federal wildlife biologists investigate predators of endangered razorback suckers, the diet of hummingbirds, or tag pollinators of conservation interest, such as Monarch Butterflies. Projects will be determined according to availability and intern interest.

Nervous System Function and Evolution

Faculty Advisor: Shana Geffeney, PhD

If you are interested in pursuing a medical career, this internship project might be right for you. Interns will learn various techniques, including protein modeling and electrophysiology, to investigate how evolutionary change occurs in the nervous system. We will use a “protein time-machine” approach to model the structure of an ancient snake ion channel, as well as express the channel protein and record its activity. The goals of the project are to understand how garter snakes evolved resistance to the neurotoxin tetrodotoxin (TTX) by comparing an ancient protein to modern forms of the channel.