The Tauber Family Student Interns 2025

The Tauber Family Student Internship was established in 2013 by the generosity of Joel and Shelley Tauber, inspired by their own granddaughter's experience in the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies' lab.

The 10-week salaried program gives undergraduate students from universities across the country an opportunity to learn about and experience cutting-edge research first-hand.  After being chosen through an application process, each Tauber Family Intern is paired up with a mentor, receiving hands-on training in a variety of biomedical research techniques, as well as developing their own research project.

Over the last 13 years, Tauber Interns have made quite the impact.  Their work has contributed to 37 publications in 29 of the top academic journals.  21 of them have gone to medical school, and another ten plan to.  They aren’t done yet.

Meet the 2025 Tauber Family Student Interns:

Chloe Kiriluk

Senior, Biopsychology, Cognition and Neuroscience
University of Michigan

Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, MI

Internship research focus: Diabetic Peripheral Neuropathy

“This summer I have been working on a study that is comparing cellular characteristics in mice models with those of human samples.  Demonstrating that there are the same conditions in both is essential to identifying new therapy targets for those suffering from neuropathy.  From working with human dorsal root ganglia to performing immunochemistry staining, this internship is truly instrumental in my learning and enhancing my performance as a researcher.”

Future Plans: To become a clinician, with a special interest in neurology.

William M. Lentz

Senior, Information Security
Oakland University

Hometown: Dearborn Heights, MI

Internship Research Focus: Blood stain, intensity, and RNA scop analysis

Future Plans:  Research IT security or work for an anti-cybercrime organization.

Kyle J. Loi

B.S., Neuroscience,
Minor, Creative Writing
University of Michigan

Hometown: Cocoa Beach, FL

Internship Research Focus: Alzheimer’s Disease

“I’ve been looking at how interneurons in the brain contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.  Interneurons are responsible for regulating neurons from being overexcited, which happens in Alzheimer’s disease.  When interneurons degenerate, evidence shows an increase in neuron firing and eventually exhaustion before degeneration.  We believe that if we can extend interneuron survivability and inhibitory function, we could decrease the likelihood of Alzheimer’s onset.”

Future Plans: Medical school to become a surgeon, continuing research pursuits integrating computational science into biological experiments to identify new therapies.

Cameron Miller

Senior, Neuroscience
Minor, Music
Harvard University

Hometown: Ann Arbor, MI

Internship Research Focus: Neuropathy

“Ove worked on a variety of projects related to neuropathy.  First, we looked at how fructose worsens inflammation and insulin resistance in diabetes.  Sepecifically, I assessed changes in gene expression related to insulin sensitivitiy and inflammatory signaling.  I also helped on a study that looked at how cellular markers change after anti-inflammatory treatment.  Finally, I am helping to identify patterns in human dorsal root ganglion neurons relevant to neuropathy, metabolism, and regeneration and compare them to our findings on mice.  This will hopefully reinforce the translational value of our mouse models.

Future Plans: Applying to medical school.

Noah Radtke

B.A., Biochemistry
Earlham College

Hometown: Bloomfield Hills, MI

Internship Focus: Alzheimer’s disease

“I’m primarily working on a study that aims to unveil how midlife metabolic syndrome can affect the onset of Alzheimer’s disease.”

Future Plans: To be an orthopedic surgeon, conducting research as a physician alongside treating patients.

Muskaan Suvas

Junior, Neuroscience,
Minor, Sociology of Health and Medicine
University of Michigan

Internship Research Focus: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

“I have been working on a project that examines the role of natural killer (NK) cells in the progression of ALS.  Specifically, I have been analyzing the expression to five different genes linked to NK cell activation.

Future Plans: Medical school to become a physician.

Every year, Joel and Shelley Tauber visit the NeuroNetwork for Emerging Therapies to see the student present about their work.  Here are highlights from a few of the presentations:

“The last ten-plus years have proven what an incredible impact the Tauber Family Student Internship can have.  By undergrads receiving the support they need to feed their curiosity, they have made an immediate impact on neurological research and are well on their way to becoming research leaders and doctors of tomorrow,” said Eva L. Feldman, M.D., Ph.D., Russell N. DeJong Professor of Neurology.

Here is how Whitney Rubin, former Tauber Family Intern, remembers her experience: 

“Participating in the Tauber Internship was the first step in discovering my passion for research.  Working full-time in a lab for the summer showed me that I wanted to continue doing research after college and before starting medical school.

“Coming into the lab without prior exposure to technical terms or lab techniques can be intimidating.  But having a dedicates summer to immerse myself in science, learn foundational skills, and master key techniques gave me the confidence to take the next step.

“That experience inspired me to move to New York City, where I now work full-time as a histology technician in Dr. Kathryn Moore’s lab at NYU Langone.  The hands-on experience I gained during my Tauber Internship directly contributed to my ability to take ownership of projects and bring new projects and bring new skills to the lab.  Since then, I’ve published a paper, have one manuscript under revision, and presented a poster at the Cardiovascular Research Center Symposium.

“Without the Tauber Internship, I would have never discovered how much I enjoy research.  It gave me the confidence and foundation to pursue research as a vital part of my future in medicine.”