Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program

Each selected intern is thoughtfully matched with a Northwestern faculty member and given a hypothesis-driven or hypothesis-generating basic or clinical research project. Each intern’s project will make a meaningful contribution to their laboratory’s research and help advance our understanding of the mechanisms that drive lung disease.

The research training is coupled with activities that prepare interns for the college/graduate school application process, success in college/graduate school, and development of their professional careers in science and/or medicine. The research experience culminates with a presentation at the annual Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Symposium.

The Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care is located in the Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in downtown Chicago.

Read more about our program here: Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program Supports the Next Generation of Scientists.

Hosted by the Northwestern Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care since 1999, our program was established by Jacob I. Sznajder, MD, to provide research opportunities for high school and undergraduate students in demographic groups that are underrepresented in science. We actively seek out participants who are the first in their family to attend college, come from a background of low socioeconomic status, are a member of an underrepresented minority racial/ethnic group, and/or are women.

In 2018 the Pulmonary and Critical Care Summer Research Program was endowed by Northwestern University trustees Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey. In 2019 interns were welcomed to Pulmonary and Critical Care’s new, state-of-the-art laboratories in the Simpson Querrey Biomedical Research Center. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, we successfully pivoted to a fully remote model. In 2022 our program was officially named the Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program in grateful recognition of Querrey for her years of generous support.

Interns will be expected to make a full-time commitment (40 hours per week, typically 9:00 AM–5:00 PM, Monday through Friday), work energetically on their projects, and develop a professional attitude toward their research, faculty mentors, administrators, and fellow interns.

Each intern selected for the Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program will be paid a competitive stipend.

There is no cost to participate in the program. However, interns will be responsible for their own housing and transportation to/from the Northwestern campus in downtown Chicago.

• All students must be age 16 years or older as of May 31 in the year the program takes place.

• High school students must currently be a junior at the time of application.

• Undergraduate students must be enrolled at an accredited college/university. Planned and completed coursework must demonstrate a serious interest in the biological sciences or a future career in medicine.

We welcome applications from students all over the country. However, please note that selected interns will be responsible for their own housing and transportation to/from the Northwestern campus in downtown Chicago. For this reason, many of our interns live or stay with family who live in the Chicago area.

See the high schools and colleges where selected interns have been students here.

Applications are expected to open up in early January each year and close in early February. Exact dates will be posted closer to this time. The deadline to receive all supporting transcripts and letters of recommendation is 2 weeks after the application deadline.  

The exact program dates vary from year to year. Typically, the program begins in early June and continues through the end of July.

If needed, we will work with a selected intern and their mentor to create a more accommodating schedule.

The following are required to apply:

• Online application, including:
  • CV or resume (PDF format)
• Transcript(s) of your most current completed year*
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty/teachers*

*We do not accept recommendation letters or transcripts from students. Your referees and transcript providers will be emailed automatically with instructions when you submit your application.

It is recommended that you submit your application early to give your schools and teachers additional time to submit their materials. 

There is no cost to apply.

Northwestern University does not discriminate or permit discrimination by any member of its community against any individual on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, parental status, marital status, age, disability, citizenship status, veteran status, genetic information or any other classification protected by law in matters of admissions, employment, housing or services or in the educational programs or activities it operates. Harassment, whether verbal, physical or visual, that is based on any of these characteristics is a form of discrimination.

Northwestern University complies with federal and state laws that prohibit discrimination based on the protected categories listed above, including Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination based on sex (including sexual misconduct) in the University’s educational programs and activities. In addition, Northwestern provides reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants, students and employees with disabilities and to individuals who are pregnant.