Students interested in the Precision Medicine/Genetics program will typically work with a mentor in the Center for Precision Medicine Research (CPMR) on a project that focuses on discovering the structure of the human genome and the hunt for genes that influence human health disorders, which will improve patient care. In addition to the independent research project, studies may have the opportunity to be involved with other projects related to MCRI’s cutting edge molecular technologies and Marshfield Clinic’s Personalized Medicine Research Project (PMRP), which is a biobank of plasma, serum, and DNA specimens from 20,000 Marshfield Clinic patients.
CPMR SRIP Project
CPMR researchers will offer two projects for the 2026 summer session.
1) Bioinformatics for Cancer Biomarker Detection
Project Overview:
Cancer remains a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early detection of cancer significantly improves patient outcomes, yet reliable biomarkers remain limited. Multiomics data offer a powerful way to uncover complex molecular signatures associated with cancer. This project applies bioinformatics and machine learning approaches to identify multiomics biomarkers for cancer detection (Probably Breast or ovarian cancers).
Primary research hypothesis: Can integration of multiomics data improve the identification and predictive accuracy of biomarkers for cancer (breast or ovarian cancers) detection?
The intern will perform data preprocessing and analysis of multiomics datasets to identify candidate cancer biomarkers. They will explore correlation across omics layers, build simple classification models, and generate visualizations. The intern may gain experience in multiomics data integration, bioinformatics analysis, and exposure to translational research in precision oncology.
Requirements:
Students should have experience in Python or R, classification or regression models, and correlation, t-tests, and ANOVA - as well as skills in data processing, quality control, and interpreting biological data. This project is open to undergraduate seniors, and graduate students who are engaged in the following areas are strongly encouraged to apply for this project: Bioinformatics, computer science, data science, or biotechnology. Students will be performing literature reviews, analyzing data, and attending seminars--with heavy focus in data analysis. This project is either virtual or in-person internship.
2) Extracting Family Data from Collections Data
Project Overview:
Nearly 1 million Marshfield Clinic patients have been placed into over 300,000 families by mining electronic health record (EHR) data. This represents nearly 20% of the patient population and is one of the world’s largest database of family data linked to longitudinal health records. Importantly, this resource allows countless opportunities in disease-specific research aimed at understanding disease transmission in families. A limitation of the dataset include families are often young, healthy, and small limiting their utility. Marshfield Clinic has long standing business relationships with outside entities. This includes collection agencies who target those with delinquent bills. These agencies collect demographic data on these patients including family members information. This information has been provided back to Marshfield Clinic and is available for research.
Primary research hypothesis: Additional family data can be generated from external resources to create more complete multi-generation families.
The intern will develop computational methods and strategies to extract family data from collections data. In addition, the summer intern will be integrated into the lab by attending regular meetings. Possible opportunities may include job shadowing in a research or clinical position.
Requirements:
Students should have excellent critical thinking and skills associated with SAS programing, basic statistics, and computer programing. This project is open to computer science, genetics, informatics, or like degrees. This project is open to graduate students. Students will be performing literature reviews, analyzing data, and attending seminars--with heavy focus in data analysis. This project is either virtual or in-person internship.
Friendly reminder, the internship is a competitive process with an application, copy of transcripts, resume or CV, personal statement, and two academic or research references. See Frequently Asked Questions for additional details.
Application window for the summer of 2026 is now open and will close Feb. 6, 2026 at 11:59pm CST. Apply here.