An Innovative Pilot Program Approach to Facilitating Interdisciplinary Collaboration Among STEM and Public Health...

Research internships, designed to enhance students' scientific knowledge, research skills, and confidence, typically focus on a single science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) discipline and miss the opportunity to facilitate the development of interdisciplinary collaboration skills crucial for translational research. As part of the Human BioMolecular Atlas Program (HuBMAP), we piloted a 5-day spring break research internship with two tracks: technology (targeting STEM students) and policy (targeting public health students). The program, attended by 21 participants and conducted synchronously via Zoom, included interactive virtual sessions, hands-on activities using digital tools, small-group discussions, and reflection assignments, with students collaborating and drawing upon their diverse perspectives to generate hypotheses, solve problems, and practice disseminating scientific findings through abstracts and posters. The internship was well-received, with 17 of 21 participants completing a self-assessment of academic and research abilities before and after the internship, and 18 completing a post-program satisfaction survey. Participants reported increased research self-efficacy and high satisfaction with the program overall, topics addressed, opportunities for peer interaction, program length, and value for academic development. Students' free-text responses highlighted the value of interdisciplinary collaboration. This innovative pilot program and its promising outcomes emphasize the benefits of early interdisciplinary collaboration in students' research careers and provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of a cohort-based research internship for engineering and public health students. We intend to continue developing and refining the curriculum and plan to offer an open-access version accessible for instructors at other institutions.