Research Intern

Toro Health Pathways (THP) is a postbaccalaureate internship program offered through a collaboration between the Cedars-Sinai Cancer Research Center for Health Equity and CSU Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The program provides recent CSUDH graduates with an immersive, nine-month pre-graduate research experience in cancer and related health sciences. THP is designed to expand access to meaningful research experiences while giving fellows the opportunity to apply their academic preparation within an active biomedical research environment. ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT The Cedars-Sinai Department of Medicine brings together researchers and physicians working across a broad range of medical disciplines. Through collaborative research and clinical innovation, teams work to advance scientific knowledge and develop new approaches to understanding and treating disease. ABOUT THE RESEARCH This internship provides exposure to research focused on cellular senescence, including the biology of senescent cells, the development of senolytic and senotherapeutic strategies, and the role of senescence in cancer, metabolic disease, and aging. Research within the team examines how senescent cells within tumors may affect chemotherapy efficacy, tumor biology, and treatment response, as well as how targeting senescent cells may influence age-related metabolic and physical dysfunction. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN AND DO As a Toro Health Pathways Research Intern, you will work alongside an experienced research team to gain exposure to basic and translational research in cellular senescence, cancer biology, aging, and metabolic disease. Throughout the internship, you will: * Develop foundational knowledge of cellular senescence and the senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and their relevance to cancer, aging, and metabolic disease. * Learn about senolytic drug development and emerging senotherapeutic strategies. * Receive training in foundational cell and molecular biology techniques and responsible laboratory research practices. * Gain exposure to in vivo research and animal handling. * Participate in supervised laboratory research, including experimental observation, data collection, data interpretation, and literature synthesis. * Explore approaches for identifying, characterizing, and targeting senescent cells. * Examine how senescent cells may influence chemotherapy efficacy, tumor biology, immune checkpoint expression, and treatment outcomes. * Conduct a structured scientific literature review related to cellular senescence in cancer, aging, or obesity. * Participate in weekly research team meetings, scientific discussions, and literature updates. * Attend academic seminars and networking opportunities with investigators, students, mentors, and members of the broader Toro Health Pathways community. * Develop scientific communication skills through research summaries, presentations, and data visualization. * Prepare a scientific poster for presentation at the Toro Health Pathways Poster Session in April 2027. INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE Months 1–2 | Orientation and Foundational Training Establish learning objectives and research expectations while becoming familiar with the laboratory environment, active research projects, cellular senescence, SASP biology, senolytic strategies, molecular biology methods, and animal handling. Months 2–3 | Guided Research Participation Begin supervised participation in research activities and laboratory experiments. Develop skills in evaluating scientific literature related to cellular senescence, tumor immunology, cancer, aging, obesity, and senotherapeutics. Months 2–9 | Ongoing Research and Mentorship Participate in supervised experiments, data interpretation, literature synthesis, weekly progress discussions, and research team meetings. Continue building laboratory, analytical, and scientific communication skills throughout the internship. Months 8–9 | Scientific Poster Development Synthesize the research experience into a scientific poster related to cellular senescence and cancer biology for presentation at the Toro Health Pathways Poster Session. PROGRAM OBJECTIVES By the conclusion of the internship, the fellow will have had the opportunity to: * Apply undergraduate education within an active cancer research environment. * Build foundational knowledge of cellular senescence, SASP biology, cancer biology, aging, and metabolic disease. * Gain exposure to collaborative, team-based basic and translational research. * Strengthen skills in scientific literature review, laboratory research, data interpretation, and scientific communication. * Learn how researchers translate scientific questions into experimental approaches. * Build professional relationships with research colleagues, mentors, and members of the Toro Health Pathways community. * Produce a structured literature review and scientific poster demonstrating learning and research engagement. WHO THIS OPPORTUNITY IS FOR Toro Health Pathways is designed for recent CSU Dominguez Hills graduates with degrees in health-related disciplines who are interested in gaining immersive research experience before pursuing graduate or professional education. This opportunity may be especially valuable for individuals interested in cancer biology, cellular and molecular biology, aging, metabolic disease, translational science, or biomedical research and who are eager to learn within a collaborative research environment. QUALIFICATIONS EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS: * Must be 18 years of age or older. * Must have a High School Diploma or GED. * Must reside in the greater Los Angeles area or surrounding cities while conducting all activities related to the intern or visitor appointment.