About

The Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) High School Intern Programs, run through ISB's Systems Education Experiences (SEE) initiative within the Baliga Lab in Seattle, offer a suite of research opportunities for high school students ranging from an open-enrollment virtual ambassadorship to a competitive eight-week in-person summer research internship. ISB is a nonprofit scientific research organization known for its work in systems biology — a field that integrates genomics, computational biology, and data science to study how biological systems function as a whole.

The most selective offering is the 8-Week Summer Internship (June 29–August 21, 2026), open to current 11th graders only. Between 4 and 10 students are accepted from over 300 applications, working 40 hours per week in ISB labs on projects spanning computational biology, cancer, microbial systems, antimicrobial resistance, the microbiome, infectious disease, immune system diversity, and aging. Students work directly with faculty mentors on current ISB research projects, develop scientific and coding skills, interview ISB professionals across career paths, and build a public website documenting their internship project. Both paid and unpaid service-learning positions are available. Applications open in January and close in mid-March.

DREAM-High is a six-week virtual or in-person program (12 ISB spots) for current 11th graders, run in partnership with Columbia University and Stanford University. Students learn R and Python to visualize and analyze genomics and clinical data in cancer systems biology, collaborating with researchers across all three partner institutions. It is free, with $500 stipends available based on need.

The Systems Thinkers in STEM Ambassadorship (STiSA) is open-enrollment for current 10th and 11th graders — all students who complete a full application are accepted. It consists of free virtual micro-courses and workshops in systems medicine and environmental science, with access to an ongoing Slack community and additional programming throughout the year.
An Academic Year Internship is also available for students who can complete an internship during their senior year through a school-release program; ISB hosts 2–6 seniors in a flexibly scheduled equivalent to the summer experience.
For a motivated high school student in or near Seattle drawn to systems biology, computational research, or biomedical science, ISB's programs offer authentic faculty-embedded research at a genuinely distinctive research institution — with multiple entry points depending on experience level and availability.