Posted: August 27, 2021

For Paneet Pandher, a master’s student at the University of Guelph, her research policy internship with the Office of Innovation and Research (OIR) at Grand River Hospital (GRH) was a hands-on learning opportunity. As she is studying Epidemiology with a specialization in applied clinical research, the internship allowed her to “review and finalize all of the hospital’s research policies to ensure they followed Health Canada and Network of Networks (N2) policy standards and were accurate and up-to-date.”

“Through the internship,” Pandher continues, “I was able to learn more about the research policy process because I am now more familiar with policy development and reviewal.” She notes that this internship will positively impact her future career path through the direct experience gained with the reviewal and approval process of research policies, which directly impact the quality of clinical research. Over the course of her summer internship, she was supervised by Sarah Laferriere, the Office Administrator for OIR.

While her internship was only for a summer, the knowledge she gained will be carried with her throughout her studies and future career. “I would recommend a summer internship at Grand River Hospital to fellow students because not only do you learn a lot, everyone is wonderful to work with. I want to give many thanks to my supervisors and mentors who supported me during this learning opportunity.”

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