Every summer, The Michael J. Fox Foundation works with interns who lend their skills to our mission to cure Parkinson’s, and benefit from the chance to witness day-to-day operations at a fast-paced nonprofit. To get to know more about them and what they do here throughout the summer, this summer we are blogging Q&As with each of the interns. Appropriately, the interviews are also conducted and written by an intern — Thea Glassman, our 2012 Marketing & Communications intern, who studies at the University of Kansas, one of the country’s great journalism schools. For her most recent Q&A, Thea spoke with Claudia Marshall, who is interning with the Foundation’s Research Partnerships team.
Claudia Marshall is a rising senior majoring in Political Science and Spanish at Bucknell University. A native of Westport, Connecticut, she is returning for her second summer internship with Research Partnerships at the Michael J. Fox Foundation. Get to know Claudia a little bit better with our Four Questions For An Intern.
Thea Glassman: What is a typical day for you at the Michael J. Fox Foundation?
Claudia Marshall: The majority of my time is spent working closely with Tracey, one of the associate directors of Research Partnerships, on industry related projects. For instance, I’ll be spending a couple of weeks this summer updating a database of all the pharmaceutical companies and smaller biotechs that are currently developing therapies and drugs for Parkinson’s disease. However right now, I am working on an analysis project with Laura, the other associate director of Research Partnerships, compiling feedback and analyzing data from the Hot Topics Call Series.
TG: What made you interested in Research Partnerships?
CM: I was interested in working in the research partnerships department because I find their collaborative efforts with industry, academia, and PD patients to be important and innovative.
TG: What’s the first thing you do when you get out of work?
CM: I commute back to Connecticut and typically go on a run to relax.
TG: What do you think you will take away from working at the Michael J. Fox Foundation?
CM: I had a very enriching and educational experience at the Foundation last summer, so my foremost objective this year is to learn as much as possible. More generally, I hope to help out as much as I can while observing exactly how a foundation of this stature operates.
Interested in an internship with the Foundation? The Foundation is always looking for smart, determined individuals who would like to participate in an internship with us. As a result, resumes can be submitted to the Foundation throughout the year. To view current openings and to apply, visit our Careers page.