Track 1 of 2: Bibliometric Analysis in Neuroscience

Track 1 is part of the ThinkNeuro Science Research Internship Program (SRIP), a fully remote research and certification program for ambitious students typically on the pre-med track or intend to pursue graduate school in the natural sciences. Interns learn to conduct bibliometric analysis on topics in neuroscience, medicine, and public health using tools like R programming and Microsoft Excel. The bibliometric analysis curriculum is developed under the academic guidance of faculty and physicians from Harvard Medical School, Harvard Engineering, Stanford School of Medicine, and USC School of Pharmacy, whose expertise ensures the program’s rigor and alignment with undergraduate-level research standards. In addition to regular lectures, these professors and physicians also deliver keynotes and judge symposium posters, providing direct feedback on student research.

Interns complete the program with authorship on:

  • A graduate-level research abstract

  • A research poster and oral defense

  • A technical certificate recognizing their training in bibliometrics and data science

While core topics in Track 1 are taught by faculty and physicians, office hours are led by ThinkNeuro project managers who answer intern questions and guide students through completing all research deliverables.

Summer Application
alumni results

ABOUT

Info packet
reviews

DELIVERABLES & OUTCOMES

SPRING 2026 FACULTY & PHYSICIAN MENTORS

Our Advisory Board includes professors, physicians, and software and machine learning engineers who guide ThinkNeuro’s academic direction and program development. The faculty and physician mentors listed below, from Harvard Medical School and Stanford School of Medicine, deliver exclusive lectures for students enrolled in the Spring Intensive.

Dr. Kaushik Venkatesh, MD, MBA, MPH

Harvard Medical School Internal Medicine

Dr. Toby Barrack, MD, MBA

Stanford School of Medicine Orthopaedic Surgery

Dr. Shriya Srinivasan, PhD

Harvard University Faculty/Professor

Dr. Kari Franson, PharmD, PhD, BCPP, FNAP

USC School of Pharmacy Faculty/Dean

ELIGIBILITY & APPLICATION CRITERIA

Application to Track 1 is open to ambitious high school, undergraduate, and recent college graduates with a passion for neuroscience and typically on the pre-med track. While U.S. students are given priority for admission, international applicants are also welcome to apply.

Who Should Apply: this program is ideal for students with little to no prior research experience. In fact, 57% of our interns from Fall 2025 indicated that the SRIP was their first exposure to research, making it especially well-suited for:

  • High school students who are curious, driven, and eager to explore academic research for the first time

  • Undergraduates who want to build a strong foundation before applying to university labs or national research programs

  • Post-bacc, master’s students, and recent graduates looking to gain practical experience in data analysis, research communication, or public health-related topics

We value curiosity, commitment, and independent learning more than credentials. If you're motivated to learn and excited about neuroscience, this program is built for you.

Application Process:

We encourage Early Decision applications, as each cohort is capped to ensure quality mentorship and small-group support and therefore tend to fill quickly.

INSIDE THE BIBLIOMETRICS CURRICULUM

Phase 1: R Programming Foundations
Interns begin by building technical fluency in R, one of the most widely used programming languages in research and data science. Through guided curriculum modules created by software engineers and taught by Caltech CS Careers, students learn to:

  • Set up their R environment

  • Clean and organize data

  • Run bibliometric commands

  • Create basic visualizations (e.g., word clouds, co-authorship networks)

No prior coding experience is required, as this phase is designed to be beginner-friendly yet rigorous!

Phase 2: Bibliometric Analysis & Data Visualization
Next, interns move into the core analysis phase, where they extract real citation and authorship data from Web of Science (WoS) exports and organize it using Microsoft Excel and R. They will:

  • Perform keyword and citation analysis

  • Identify research trends and gaps

  • Create publication graphs, topic maps, and collaboration networks

  • Learn to interpret and refine bibliometric figures

This phase emphasizes bibliometric computation and modeling, transforming raw citation data into structured datasets and visual analytics.

Phase 3: Research Communication & Presentation
In the final phase, interns translate their analysis into professional research deliverables, including a graduate-level abstract, a research poster formatted for academic conferences, and an oral presentation. Interns receive mentorship on public speaking, design, and how to effectively communicate complex ideas to diverse audiences, preparing them for real-world academic and professional settings.

Many interns have gone on to submit their posters to local and national conferences with success. Their research skills and communication training developed throughout the BRI program have:

  • Translated into stronger college and graduate school applications.

  • Opened doors to research positions at local universities and further academic opportunities.

The successes of past high school and undergraduate interns are showcased in the case studies below and in the Student Outcomes tab of our website, highlighting acceptances to top universities, prestigious research programs, and lab positions at leading institutions.

TOOLS & PLATFORMS YOU'LL LEARN

Throughout the program, interns gain hands-on experience with a range of tools commonly used in academic research, data science, and presentation design:

  • R Programming: data cleaning, bibliometric analysis, and visualization

  • Web of Science (WoS): to export citation and authorship data

  • Microsoft Excel: to organize, structure, and sort datasets

  • Zotero: to manage references and citation metadata

  • Figma & Canva: to design clear, professional posters and presentations

These tools are introduced gradually throughout each phase of the curriculum, with beginner-friendly guidance and support from mentors through our custom-built modules, dedicated Slack channels, and live bi-weekly office hours.

Tuition varies by program cohort, with separate pricing for the Regular and Intensive. We offer two forms of support: merit-based scholarships and need-based financial aid.

Merit aid is available exclusively to students admitted to the Summer Intensive and is offered only during the Early Decision round. All Early Decision applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships based off academic achievement and essay responses.

In addition, we provide need-based financial aid covering 100% of tuition for high school students attending Title I schools, undergraduates who receive the Federal Pell Grant, and students from families with household incomes typically below $60,000 USD per year, adjusted for family size. An outstanding academic record and submission of a separate financial aid application are required for scholarship consideration.

Please note that any/all ThinkNeuro tuition payments made are non-refundable, except in extreme circumstances such as family medical emergency where documentation can be provided to ThinkNeuro (e.g. an official doctor’s note from a non-relative).

TUITION, MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS, AND FINANCIAL AID

Program Track Program Tuition Bibliometric Analysis &
Data Science Lectures		 Mode of
Learning		 Certifications Offered On-demand Mentorship Live Office
Hours
Bibliometrics
Research Internship 		$125 Six hours of lectures
from ThinkNeuro
project managers 		Asynchronous
lectures and live
group meetings 		BRI Certificate of
Completion 		During abstract
writing & poster
creation process 		3 hours of
optional office
hours per week
Bibliometrics
Research Internship
Summer Intensive 		$695
 Nine 1 hour lectures
from Harvard Medicine
and Stanford Medicine
faculty and physicians 		Live lectures
and live group
meetings 		BRI Certificate of Completion signed by Harvard/ Stanford faculty and physicians lecturers During R programming
and abstract writing &
poster creation 		5 hours of optional office hours per week
from Caltech CS mentors

Every student’s journey into research looks a little different. Hear directly from past interns about how the SRIP shaped their academic goals, built their confidence, and opened new doors whether they were just starting out in high school or diving deeper as undergraduates. These stories offer a glimpse into what's possible through the program.

INTERN OUTCOMES

Shishir Tallada
Year: High School Junior Total Involvement: 2 years After ThinkNeuro: Johns Hopkins University Biomedical Engineering

Shishir joined ThinkNeuro as a high school student with no prior experience in academic research. Through his internship, he explored key topics in medicine and public health while gaining valuable mentorship and communication skills. Shishir is now attending Johns Hopkins University, where he continues to build on the foundation he developed during his time at ThinkNeuro.

Clarissa Coleman Year: High School Junior Total Involvement: 1 semester After ThinkNeuro: MIT MITES Semester Program

Clarissa joined ThinkNeuro as a high school student with no prior research experience. After completing the Bibliometrics Research Internship, she was accepted to the MITES Semester Program at MIT which is one of the nation’s most prestigious high school research programs with an acceptance rate below 2%. She also went on to secure a research position at Brown University, continuing to build on the foundation she developed through ThinkNeuro.

Four Undergraduate Voices, One Journey. This group testimonial features four undergraduate interns who joined ThinkNeuro in Summer 2025 with varying levels of prior experience.

Hanna, an incoming freshman at UC Irvine, was invited to join a brain-computer interface lab on campus after exploring the topic through ThinkNeuro. Abraham, an undergraduate at Cal Poly Pomona, will be starting a new computer science research position through his university’s STAR program this fall after his first research exposure through the BRI. Aamiya, a student at UMass Amherst, is applying her new R programming skills in a research role at her university. Syed, an undergraduate at Carnegie Mellon University, credits ThinkNeuro with giving him the confidence and foundation to pursue future research opportunities.

Watch their stories here.

Sonia Singhal Year: College Freshman Total Involvement: 1 year After ThinkNeuro: UPenn on-campus research position in a neuroscience lab

Sonia joined the BRI program in the spring of her freshman year at UPenn. Now a rising sophomore, she's returning for a second round, but this time, she’s documenting her journey. Sonia’s 6-part video series walks through each phase of the BRI experience, so future interns can get a real sense of how the program is structured.

Learn more about our student outcomes

PROGRAM ALUMNI

Learn more about our alumni

Applications for Summer 2026 open on March 16th.

APPLY HERE

Summer early deadline: Friday April 17th, 2026 11:59 PM PST.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Interns on the regular track typically spend 3-5 hours per week while intensive track interns spend between 5-10 hours, depending on their pace and depth of exploration. The program is designed to be flexible for students balancing school, extracurriculars, or other commitments.

  • Not at all! SRIP is beginner-friendly and structured to support students with little to no prior experience. Many of our interns are exploring research for the first time.

  • Yes, the SRIP is 100% online and accessible to students worldwide. All training, mentorship, and deliverables can be completed from anywhere with an internet connection.

  • Yes, interns who complete the full curriculum will receive a certificate recognizing their training in bibliometric analysis and data science.

  • The first 2-3 weeks of R programming are fully asynchronous with live instructional sessions from Caltech CS Careers for Intensive Track interns. After that, interns are grouped into research projects led by project associates, who host real-time meetings to support analysis and presentation development. Meeting times are coordinated based on intern availability, and recordings or alternative options are provided when possible

  • Every intern is paired with a project associate or supervisor who provides guidance, feedback, and mentorship throughout the program. You’ll also have access to custom-built modules, dedicated Slack channels, and bi-weekly live office hours led by ThinkNeuro staff.

    Additionally, our faculty and physician mentors on the Intensive Track offer periodic networking sessions to assist interns in finding conferences and additional research opportunities after ThinkNeuro.

  • Yes! Many interns have successfully submitted their SRIP posters or abstracts to science fairs, conferences, and other external competitions. If you plan to do so, you must keep the ThinkNeuro trademark on your poster. We also encourage you to let your mentor know, as we’re happy to help you prepare your materials for submission and provide you with a scholarship to cover a portion of the conference fees.

  • The program tuition for ThinkNeuro’s SRIP is $125 for the regular track and $695 for the intensive track. This fee includes:

    • Lectures from faculty and physicians from Harvard, Stanford, and USC throughout the course of the internship (INTENSIVE ONLY).

    • Technical modules in R programming with curriculum designed by software engineers at Uber, Apple, Microsoft, and Google.

    • Live R Programming lectures from Caltech CS Careers (INTENSIVE ONLY).

    • Live mentorship from our project managers throughout the abstract and poster creation process.

    • Symposium poster judging from Harvard, Stanford, and USC faculty judges (INTENSIVE ONLY).

    • Technical certification in bibliometric analysis and data science.


    This fee ensures that all interns have the resources, support, and technical infrastructure needed to complete the program successfully. There is no application fee, as tuition is only collected upon acceptance.

  • Yes, we offer both merit and financial aid scholarships available for all tracks of the SRIP. Early Decision (ED) applicants receive priority for both categories.

    Interns who are unable to pay the full program tuition upfront can choose Klarna at checkout through Stripe to finance their tuition. Klarna offers options like Pay in 4 interest-free installments or monthly financing, depending on your eligibility.

  • Admission is based on a holistic review of your interest, commitment, and alignment with our mission. While the program is selective, it is also designed to support a diverse range of learners, especially those with limited access to traditional research opportunities, whether due to their age, educational background, or lack of prior research exposure. Historical acceptance rates have ranged between 30-50%. For acceptance statistics from a recent cohort, you can view data from Spring 2026 here.

  • Yes, international students are eligible and welcome to apply. While U.S.-based students are prioritized, we regularly receive applications from students around the world.

    The program is open to high school students, undergraduates, master’s students, and recent graduates who are eager to build research and data skills. All applicants are considered based on fit, interest, and capacity.