CREATE Program

For first-year graduate students

This annual program takes place every Spring or Fall semester.

The CREATE at UH Cancer Research Internship Program offers first-year graduate students at University of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, Chaminade University, or the University of Guam the opportunity to gain a 1-semester research experience in population sciences a multiethnic environment or unique cancer biology labs with the goal to enhance their skills to address cancer disparities, causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer and to improve competitiveness in their future careers in cancer-related research.

CREATE Program

For first-year graduate students

This annual program takes place every Spring or Fall semester.

The CREATE at UH Cancer Research Internship Program offers first-year graduate students at University of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, Chaminade University, or the University of Guam the opportunity to gain a 1-semester research experience in population sciences a multiethnic environment or unique cancer biology labs with the goal to enhance their skills to address cancer disparities, causes, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer and to improve competitiveness in their future careers in cancer-related research.

Areas of Research

Each student will be paired with a faculty mentor to work in one of our two UH Cancer Center research programs:

  1. Population Sciences in the Pacific: epidemiology, nutrition, biostatistics, bioinformatics, behavior change, quality of life in cancer survivors, community-based interventions to promote cancer preventive lifestyles in Hawaiʻi's multiethnic population
  2. Cancer Biology: molecular carcinogenesis, metastasis, drug discovery, cancer immunology, molecular mechanisms underlying cancer disparities, and new therapeutic approaches to cancer treatment and diagnosis

Program Components

In addition to mentored research project, students will participate in the following activities:

  1. An orientation session
  2. Develop an individual training plan with mentors
  3. Training in the responsible conduct of research, laboratory safety, and/or human research protection
  4. Writing seminars and participation in manuscript preparation
  5. Journal clubs and research seminars

Eligibility Requirements

Application to the internship is open to students who are:

  1. First-year or incoming first-year graduate student at the University of Hawaiʻi, Hawaiʻi Pacific University, Chaminade University, and the University of Guam in the following disciplines:
    1. Public Health Studies (Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Health Sciences, Native Hawaiian and Indigenous Health); Human Nutrition, Animal and Food Sciences; Clinical Psychology; Social Work; Chemistry; Life Sciences; Cell and Molecular Biology; Molecular Biosciences and Bioengineering, or related discipline.
  2. Academically outstanding (at least a 3.5 GPA)
  3. Stated interest in cancer research

Priority will be given to eligible applicants who:

  1. Express a cancer-related research interest that matches an available mentor’s focus in population or laboratory-based research
  2. Relevant research experience and skills
  3. Ethnic background that is considered under-represented in biomedical sciences
  4. First generation college or low socioeconomic status of the family

Compensation

Participants receive hourly pay according to University of Hawaiʻi schedules for their full-time participation in the internship program.

How to Apply

The Application for 2023 - 2024 academic year (PDF) is open until the positions are filled.

Contact Us

If you have any additional questions about the summer internship program, please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

The summer internship program is supported in part by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R25 CA244073), an endowment from the Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company, and donations from the Friends of the UH Cancer Center.