The Rockies and High Plains Vector-borne Diseases Center (RaHP VEC) is introducing a new summer internship program for summer 2024. We seek to facilitate opportunities for field training and localized research projects for students from throughout our region (CO, WY, NM, UT, and the TX panhandle) who are interested in vector control and public health. The project should aim to fit within the RaHP VEC mission of expanding training and capacity, and implementing consistent and useful evaluation metrics and other practices within our region.

These internships aim to improve connections between local mosquito districts, health agencies, and academic institutions, and require an academic mentor to help guide the student in achieving these goals. RaHP VEC will help facilitate connections with the local districts and health agencies, while the academic mentor should be identified and agree to support the intern before applying. After April 1^st, RaHP VEC will begin to review applicants and work with individual interns, mentors, and their local districts to devise project plans (applications will still be accepted until a later date). We encourage current undergraduate (2- or 4- year institutions) and Master’s students to apply and we will seek to spread internship placements throughout our region.

Example activities:

• Field collections (e.g., selecting sites, deploying and recovering traps, counting/sorting insects)
• Lab-based work (e.g., insecticide resistance assays, virus detection)
• Analysis (e.g., data processing, managing data streams, visualization and dissemination)
• Outreach (e.g., conducting vector control/risk assessment surveys)