VGTI and Seacoast Bank launch Internship Program
VGTI-Florida (Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute) announced that Seacoast National Bank will underwrite the first undergraduate internship at VGTI’s research labs set to open in February 2012 in The Center for Innovation in Tradition, St. Lucie West.
The program, known as SURF-VGTI( Summer Undergraduate Research Foundation at VGTI), was created by John Schatzle, Ph.D., a Principal Investigator and Manager of Scientific Affairs at VGTI.
As Program Director of SURF, Dr. Schatzle will match college students with a faculty mentor. The students will work for six weeks on a specific project and participate in advanced study groups covering selected topics in Immunology. Each student will receive a stipend of $3000.
“My involvement with similar programs in the past has shown that these students often go on to careers in biomedical science and form the foundation of our future generations of innovators” says Dr. Schatzle.
Dennis Hudson, III, CEO of Seacoast National Bank, says he is proud that Seacoast is the first to step forward in supporting a SURF internship. “This program is a great fit for our organization so deeply tied to the community,” says Hudson. “SURF gives us the opportunity to ‘grow our own,’ to develop our young people in the sciences, and to give them real-life experiences at an internationally recognized research lab.”
Mike Crook, a Founding Partner of Proctor Crook Crowder and Fogal, is heading the effort to get all of the internships underwritten by businesses and organizations. “This is a win-win program for everyone involved,” says Crook. “It is an clear indication that our region is becoming a research hub and committing itself to the scientific education of our young people.”
Applications for SURF will be available on the VGTI-FL web site, www.vgtifl.org, this winter.
About VGTI-Florida
VGTI-Florida is a leading immunological research institute in Port St. Lucie, Fla. that focuses on studying the human immune system to prevent and treat chronic infectious diseases, cancer and ailments that disproportionately affect aging populations. The Institute’s researchers have contributed to significant advances in the development of vaccines and other therapeutics to fight diseases such as AIDS, melanoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, yellow fever and dengue fever through human clinical trials. VGTI-FL is an independent 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization.
The program, known as SURF-VGTI( Summer Undergraduate Research Foundation at VGTI), was created by John Schatzle, Ph.D., a Principal Investigator and Manager of Scientific Affairs at VGTI.
As Program Director of SURF, Dr. Schatzle will match college students with a faculty mentor. The students will work for six weeks on a specific project and participate in advanced study groups covering selected topics in Immunology. Each student will receive a stipend of $3000.
“My involvement with similar programs in the past has shown that these students often go on to careers in biomedical science and form the foundation of our future generations of innovators” says Dr. Schatzle.
Dennis Hudson, III, CEO of Seacoast National Bank, says he is proud that Seacoast is the first to step forward in supporting a SURF internship. “This program is a great fit for our organization so deeply tied to the community,” says Hudson. “SURF gives us the opportunity to ‘grow our own,’ to develop our young people in the sciences, and to give them real-life experiences at an internationally recognized research lab.”
Mike Crook, a Founding Partner of Proctor Crook Crowder and Fogal, is heading the effort to get all of the internships underwritten by businesses and organizations. “This is a win-win program for everyone involved,” says Crook. “It is an clear indication that our region is becoming a research hub and committing itself to the scientific education of our young people.”
Applications for SURF will be available on the VGTI-FL web site, www.vgtifl.org, this winter.
About VGTI-Florida
VGTI-Florida is a leading immunological research institute in Port St. Lucie, Fla. that focuses on studying the human immune system to prevent and treat chronic infectious diseases, cancer and ailments that disproportionately affect aging populations. The Institute’s researchers have contributed to significant advances in the development of vaccines and other therapeutics to fight diseases such as AIDS, melanoma, breast cancer, prostate cancer, yellow fever and dengue fever through human clinical trials. VGTI-FL is an independent 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization.
