Division of Pulmonary & Critical Care

“The philosophy of our program is that every person involved in the program possesses teachable knowledge that is passed back and forth between interns and mentors. Our interns bring renewed energy and joy to in-person learning. Equally important, the learning culture that is created and fostered by the Northwestern mentors persists after the program ends.” 

— Karen M. Ridge, PhD, Executive Director 

“Our program aims to be a fun experience that fosters a love for science. Not only do the interns gain experience at the bench, but they also have the opportunity to read and discuss the latest research articles, attend workshops that promote career development, learn about different career paths, shadow a clinician, and have data discussions with their peers.”

— Colleen Reczek, PhD, Program Director

Program Highlights

• Interns are paired with Northwestern faculty and work on meaningful basic or clinical research projects related to lung disease.
• Activities include preparation for college/graduate school applications and career development in science or medicine.
• The program culminates with a presentation at the annual Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Symposium.

Intern Requirements

• Full-time commitment (40 hours/week) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday
• Interns receive a competitive stipend
• Interns are responsible for their own housing and transportation

Eligibility

• All students must be age 16 years or older as of May 31 in the year the program takes place.
• High school students must currently be a junior at the time of application.
• Undergraduate students must be enrolled at an accredited college/university. Planned and completed coursework must demonstrate a serious interest in the biological sciences or a future career in medicine.

We welcome applications from students all over the country. However, please note that selected interns will be responsible for their own housing and transportation to/from the Northwestern campus in downtown Chicago. For this reason, many of our interns live or stay with family who live in the Chicago area.

Participants for this year's program have been notified of their acceptance. Applications for the 2026 program will open in January 2026.

Key Upcoming Dates

June 9 — University level interns begin.

June 23 — High school level interns begin.

Aug. 1 — Poster day and last day of the program. 

The following are required to apply:

• Online application, including CV or resume (PDF format)
• Transcript(s) of your most current completed year*
• Two letters of recommendation from faculty/teachers*

*We do not accept recommendation letters or transcripts from students. Your referees and transcript providers will be emailed automatically with instructions when you submit your application.

It is recommended that you submit your application early to give your schools and teachers additional time to submit their materials. 

There is no cost to apply.

Non-Discrimination Statement

“The [Kimberly Querrey] Summer Research Program gave me valuable exposure to biomedical research, giving me an edge among my peers. It was a privilege to work in a collaborative lab environment alongside successful researchers. I also had amazing mentors who guided me through my research every step of the way. Participating in the program made me realize how much of a passion I had for biological experimentation and provided me with the skills to be successful in pursuing a career in science.” 

— Olufemi O., 2022 and 2023 KQSRP intern (high school) 

“I met compassionate and personable mentors who inspired my passion for science. They taught me skills such as data analysis, scientific presentation, wet bench techniques, and much more. However, the best part of the program were the connections I made. I met students from diverse backgrounds and made close friends. I became closer with the people in the lab I worked in and the labs around me. Through the friends, skills, and experiences I gained, this research program has made itself one of my fondest memories as I continue my journey through academia.” 

— Sahil S., 2022 and 2023 KQSRP intern (high school and college)

“Despite not having previous experience that reflected my passion for medicine, I was confidently enriched and provided with skills, mentorship, and autonomy that allowed me to grow in and out of the lab. The Kimberly Querrey Summer Research Program prioritized easing me into research while showing me the multifaceted pathways in medicine. I am thankful to the program for connecting me with mentors who are genuinely passionate about fueling the ambitions of future scientists” 

— Samely V., 2022 and 2023 KQSRP intern (high school)

• Karen M. Ridge, PhD
  Program Director
• Jacob I. Sznajder, MD
  Program Director

We are currently accepting applications for the Training Program in Lung Science for predoctoral and postdoctoral positions. To apply, please send a recommendation letter from your mentor, your CV and a short cover letter describing your research activities and interest to pulmonary@northwestern.edu with the subject line: Training Program Applicant. The deadline to apply is six months prior to when you would like funding to begin.

Predoctoral Applicant Eligibility

Our program supports three predoctoral trainees from the following programs:

• Driskoll Graduate Program (DGP)
• Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Program (IBiS)
• Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
• Biomedical Engineering Program (BME)
• Material Science and Engineering Program (MSE)

All predoctoral applicants should have completed their rotations and required coursework and passed their qualifying examinations.

Postdoctoral Applicant Eligibility

Our program supports five postdoctoral trainees. Applicants should be recent PhD postdoctoral fellows with at least one year of training or MD physicians in our fellowship program with at least two years of training in clinical pulmonary and critical care medicine, who aspire to pursue an academic career and have conducted research with one of the mentors of the NULSTP.

Each trainee is expected to:

• Publish their research and present it at internal and external conferences, including our Lung Symposium.
• Attend Pulmonary Research In Progress conferences and complete the Responsible Conduct of Research course.
• Create and annually review an Individual Development Plan with their mentor.

The training grant provides:

• Stipend support and mentorship by senior investigators for developing physician, predoctoral and postdoctoral researchers.
• Access to a collaborative lab environment, training and educational resources such as didactic courses and invited speakers.
• Administrative support to ensure protected time for research activities.

Acute Lung Injury is a devastating disorder that affects nearly a quarter million people in the United States annually. Jacob Sznajder, MD and Thomas Corbridge, MD, along with other investigators in our Division have made seminal contributions to our understanding of the physiology of ARDS that have led to advances in the supportive care of these patients.  Despite these advances, however, therapies that directly target the disease pathobiology remain elusive.  Our group is focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms by which activation of the innate and adaptive immune response alter alveolar epithelial function in the injured lung.  Our basic laboratory work is strongly linked with our clinical studies in the MICU that focus on pneumonia as among the most common causes of ARDS.  Please explore some of the research programs focused on ARDS in our group and the laboratories leading these studies.

• Alveolar Fluid Clearance from the Injured Lung
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD (Sznajder Lab) Karen Ridge, PhD  Laura Dada, PhD
• Alveolar Macrophages in Acute Lung Injury
  Investigators: Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab) 
• Metabolic Control of Influenza A Induced Lung Injury
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD  Scott Budinger, MD (Budinger Lab)
• Program Project Award: Pathophysiology of Acute Lung Injury
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD (Sznajder Lab)
• Proteostasis and the Susceptibility to Pneumonia
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD (Budinger Lab) Navdeep Chandel, PhD
• T Regulatory Cell Control of Lung Injury Resolution
  Investigators: Benjamin Singer, MD (Singer Lab)
• The Na,K-ATPase in Acute Lung Injury
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD  (Sznajder Lab)
• Vimentin and activation of the inflammasome
  Investigators: Karen Ridge, PhD

Asthma is a major cause of morbidity in both adults and children.  In urban areas like Chicago, asthma prevalence exceeds 10%.  Decades of research have identified a host of effective therapies that have transformed the health of many patients with asthma.  Nevertheless, many patients respond poorly to therapy and the underlying molecular drivers of the disease are not known. Our group interact closely with the substantial investigative team in Allergy and Immunology led by Robert Schleimer, PhD, to study the pathobiology of asthma. 

• Links Between Cellular Adhesion and Asthma
  Investigators: Cara Gottardi, PhD

While the mortality attributable to many chronic diseases has declined, that attributable to COPD has continued to increase and COPD has overtaken stroke as the third leading cause of death in the US. While the contributions of environmental factors particularly cigarette smoke to COPD pathogenesis are recognized, continued research reveals a complex interplay between these factors and the innate immune system in the lung. Understanding these factors might not only provide novel strategies to treat or prevent COPD, but also to identify factors that promote lung resilience with implications for aging. Our group has focused on interactions between the environment, the lung epithelium and alveolar macrophages to better understand COPD pathogenesis, particularly in the context of advancing age.

• Cellular Drivers of Transcription in COPD
  Investigators: Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD
• Regulation of Innate Immune Responses by Hypercapnia
  Investigators: Peter Sporn, MD, Greg Beitel,PhD, Khalilah Gates, MD
• Sensing of Hypercapnia in the Lung
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD  (Sznajder Lab)

The human lung is charged with the dynamic maintenance of oxidative phosphorylation in all of the tissues of the body through the efficient transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and the ambient air.  To accomplish this goal, the epithelial surface of the airways and alveoli is directly exposed to the nearly a quarter billion liters of air enters and leaves the lung over an average human lifespan. This air contains environmental particulates and toxins including cigarette smoke, particulate matter air pollution and asbestos, all of which can contribute to the development of chronic lung disease. Our group is focused on understanding the mechanisms by which the lung responds to these environmental challenges and how these responses may contribute to the development of chronic lung disease.

• Mitochondrial Regulation of Asbestos Mediated Lung Fibrosis
  Investigators: David Kamp, MD
• Particulate Matter Air Pollution and Cardiovascular Events
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)

Age is such an important and seemingly inevitable risk factor for disease that it is often overlooked in clinical practice. Yet expected rapid growth in the population of elderly, including a projected tripling in the size of the global population over 80 years old by 2050, mandates a better biologic understanding of the intersection between the biology of aging and the susceptibility to disease. The changes that develop in the lung during “normal aging” show remarkable similarities to the pathologies evident in patients with COPD and pulmonary fibrosis. It therefore seems likely that interventions that would slow the normal age-related decline in lung function and increase lung resilience would have a dramatic effect on the morbidity attributable to chronic lung disease.  

Our group is actively engaged in research to understand how the biology of aging intersects with that of chronic lung disease. We are particularly focused on proteostasis, the dynamic process by which cells control the concentration, conformation, binding interactions, and location of individual proteins making up the proteome through a system of regulated networks of interacting and competing biological pathways that influence protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, disaggregation, and degradation. In C. elegans, a systemically coordinated genetic program is activated upon fecundity that results in a progressive decline in the function of the proteostasis network. Genetically interrupting this process results in a prolonged lifespan with enhanced stress resilience. We are using combined approaches including imaging, transcriptomics, proteomics and epigenomics to define the function of the proteostasis network in the lung with age in comparison with other organ systems and to identify factors that might enhance proteostasis over the lifespan. 

• Alveolar Macrophage Ontogeny and Lung Aging
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD (Budinger Lab)  Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD  Cara Gottardi, PhD 
• Mapping Proteostasis in the Aging Lung
  Investigators: Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD  Richard Morimoto, PhD  William Balch, PhD
• Mitochondrial Metabolism and the Aging Lung
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD  (Chandel Lab)
• Muscle Dysfunction in the Aging Lung
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD  (Sznajder Lab)

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death worldwide and curative therapies have remained elusive.  Our group, led by Navdeep Chandel, PhD, has made seminal contributions to the field of cancer metabolism, opening novel areas for therapy.  

• Mitochondrial Metabolism Drives Cancer Progression
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD  (Chandel Lab)
• Vimentin Regulates Lung Cancer Metastasis
  Investigators: Karen Ridge, PhD

Over the lifespan, the human lung is exposed to nearly a quarter billion liters of ambient air, which carries with it a host of environmental contaminants.  The innate and adaptive immune system in the lung is charged with distinguishing harmless contaminants from potentially lethal pathogens and mounting an appropriate immune response.  Our group is focused on the role of the innate and adaptive immune systems in the development of chronic lung diseases.  In our work, we collaborate closely with investigators in Rheumatology, led by Harris Perlman, PhD and with other investigators in the Northwestern Research Community.  Examples of our ongoing projects are described below.

• Immunometabolism in the Lung
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD  (Chandel Lab)
• Macrophage Ontogeny and Lung Aging
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD (Budinger Lab)  Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD   Harris Perlman, PhD
• Mapping the Immune System in the Aging Lung
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD (Budinger Lab)  Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD  Richard Morimoto, PhD  Harris Perlman, PhD  William Balch, PhD
• Regulation of Innate Immune Responses by Hypercapnia
  Investigators: Peter Sporn, MD,  Greg Beitel,PhD,   Khalilah Gates, MD
• Wnt-β-catenin Signaling in Monocyte Differentiation
  Investigators: Cara Gottardi, PhD 

• Metabolic Control of Alveolar Repair After Lung Injury
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD (Chandel Lab)  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• Metabolic Control of Alveolar Repair After Lung Injury
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD (Chandel Lab)  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• The Role of Regulatory T Cells in Lung Repair
  Investigators: Benjamin Singer, MD  (Singer Lab)

Since the advent of the genomic era, diseases have been understood as disorders of genes and their encoded transcripts and proteins, while metabolism has been considered a necessary adjunct to fuel these processes.  In the last decade, our group has made important contributions toward understanding some diseases a primary disorders of metabolism. In this model, changes in metabolism induce signaling events that induce changes in gene expression or protein function. Our metabolism group is led by Navdeep Chandel, PhD, and extends to almost all aspects of our research program. 

• Mitochondria as Signaling Organelles in Cancer
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD  (Chandel Lab)
• Mitochondrial Dysfunction During Aging
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD (Chandel Lab)  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• Mitochondrial ROS are Required for Asbestos Mediated Lung Fibrosis
  Investigators: David Kamp, MD
• Mitochondrial ROS Regulate the Cardiovascular Response to Air Pollution
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• Mitochondrial Regulation of Stem Cell Function in Lung Injury
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD (Chandel Lab)  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• Regulation of TGF-beta signaling by mitochondrially generated ROS
  Investigators: Manu Jain, MD  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
  

Our group interacts closely with our colleagues in Neonatology and Pediatrics.  We have had the pleasure of hosting several pediatric and neonatology fellows in our laboratories and have active ongoing collaborations.

• Alveolar Macrophages in Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia
  Investigators: Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD  Karen Mestan, MD  Aaron Hamvas, MD
• Hyperactivation of the Inflammasome in Pediatric Influenza A Infection
  Investigators: Karen Ridge, PhD

Pneumonia is a common cause of ARDS and is a common complication of critical illness.  We have an active clinical research program in pneumonia, led by Richard Wunderink.  This program is complemented by an active research program that is focused on the host response to pathogens in the lung.  Please also see our program in Acute Lung Injury and Lung Immunology

• Hypercapnia Regulates the Immune Response to Pneumonia
  Investigators: Peter Sporn, MD,  Greg Beitel,PhD,   Khalilah Gates, MD
• Regulation of Innate Immunity by HSF1 During Pseudomonas Pneumonia
  Investigators: Khalilah Gates, MD,  Scott Budinger, MD, (Budinger Lab)  Peter Sporn, MD,

Proteostasis is the dynamic process by which cells control the concentration, conformation, binding interactions, and location of individual proteins making up the proteome through a system of regulated networks of interacting and competing biological pathways that influence protein synthesis, folding, trafficking, disaggregation, and degradation.  In C. elegans, a systemically coordinated genetic program is activated upon fecundity that results in a progressive decline in the function of the proteostasis network. Genetically interrupting this process results in a prolonged lifespan with enhanced stress resilience.  We are using combined approaches including imaging, transcriptomics, proteomics and epigenomics to define the function of the proteostasis network in the lung with age in comparison with other organ systems and to identify factors that might enhance proteostasis over the lifespan.

• Measuring Proteostasis in the Aging Lung
  Investigators: Scott Budinger, MD (Budinger Lab)  William Balch, PhD  Harris Perlman, PhD
• Proteostasis Decline in Aging Muscle Increases ALI-induced Muscle Loss
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD (Sznajder Lab)  Richard Morimoto, PhD 
• The Mitochondrial UPR in Lung Aging
  Investigators: Navdeep Chandel, PhD (Chandel Lab)  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)

Pulmonary fibrosis is a devastating disorder in which delicate alveolar tissue is progressively replaced by collagen and other matrix proteins. This results in a fall in lung compliance, increasing the work of breathing and threatening gas exchange. Intensive research have identified a handful of therapies that slow the progression of disease, but curative therapies remain elusive.  Our group studies several aspects of fibrosis, including the role of alveolar macrophages in the development of disease, the role of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway in the development of fibrosis and potential metabolic controllers of fibrosis We collaborate closely with our colleagues in Rheumatology in the study of scleroderma induced ILD, particularly Harris Perlman, PhD.  Our group is closely integrated with our clinical ILD group and our active lung transplantation program.

• Alveolar Macrophages Contribute to Lung Fibrosis
  Investigators: Alexander Misharin, MD, PhD  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• Mitochondrial Regulation of Asbestos Mediated Lung Fibrosis
  Investigators: David Kamp, MD
• Regulation of lung fibrosis by the proteasome
  Investigators: Manu Jain, MD  Scott Budinger, MD  (Budinger Lab)
• Vimentin as a Regulator of Lung Fibrosis
  Investigators: Karen Ridge, PhD
• Wnt/β-Catenin Signaling in Lung Fibrosis
  Investigators: Cara Gottardi, PhD

In patients with ARDS, skeletal muscle dysfunction develops rapidly and may contribute to weaning failure, prolonged mechanical ventilation and the risk of readmission after ICU discharge and mortality.  In addition, limb muscle dysfunction is observed in the majority of survivors of ARDS and may persist for as long as 5 years after discharge, where it is a major driver of morbidity. Our group seeks to understand how lung injury drives muscle dysfunction.

• Age Related Changes in Lung Injury Induced Muscle Dysfunction
  Investigators:Jacob I Sznajder, MD (Sznajder Lab)  Richard Morimoto, PhD 
• Muscle Dysfunction Mediated by Hypercapnia
  Investigators: Jacob I Sznajder, MD (Sznajder Lab)  Peter Sporn, MD