R&D PhD Summer Intern – Improving Models of Skin

About the role

Located at the Mason Business and Innovation Center in Mason, Ohio, this 12‑week paid internship runs from May (potentially early June) to August 2027. As a PhD intern in Procter & Gamble’s Corporate Function R&D area, you will work on extending the usable lifespan of advanced skin models, gaining hands‑on experience with ex vivo and in vitro skin models, literature review, experimental design, and longitudinal assessment of skin health.

Responsibilities

• Review published approaches for extending the viability of ex vivo and in vitro skin models.
• Design and conduct controlled studies beginning with current internal models.
• Monitor various metrics of skin health and viability over time.
• Analyze and interpret results to identify the most effective, reproducible, and practical method.
• Develop and communicate a clear protocol and recommendations for broader team use.

Qualifications

Required:

• Working towards a PhD in biology or biochemistry with a focus in skin biology and physiology.
• Hands‑on experience with general mammalian tissue culture and aseptic technique.
• Ability to research and compile information to design controlled comparative experiments and define quantitative endpoints.
• Strong scientific communication skills — able to synthesize literature, document protocols, and present recommendations to a technical audience.
• Ability to independently scope and execute a primarily self‑directed 12‑week research project.
• Available to work 5 days per week in person at the Mason Business and Innovation Center in Mason, Ohio for the 12‑week internship from May/early June to August 2027.

Preferred:

• Experience with 3D tissue culture systems (reconstructed epidermis, organotypic cultures, ex vivo skin tissue, or organoids).
• Familiarity with skin anatomy and physiology, particularly the epidermal barrier and inflammatory signaling.
• Experience with standard viability and cytotoxicity assays (MTT, LDH) and inflammatory readouts (ELISA or related biomarker detection assays).
• Experience with skin barrier function measurements (TEWL, TEER) and/or histological assessment of tissue integrity.
• Experience benchmarking or troubleshooting cell/tissue models for extended culture duration.

Pay

Starting pay: $60.57 per hour (fixed rate).

Schedule

Full‑time, 5 days per week in person for the 12‑week internship period.