Founded in 1970 by Drs. Howard Bleich and Dr. Warner Slack, the Division of Clinical Informatics (DCI), was among the first academic divisions in the world to concentrate on using computers for patient care, teaching, and medical research. DCI's goals have been to improve the quality and reduce the cost of medical care, enhance the quality of medical education, improve the relationship between doctors and patients, and explore innovative approaches to research through computing. Our faculty has developed hospital-wide clinical computing systems at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Our faculty was among the first to engage patients in direct dialogue with computers and had been building and evolving clinical decision support systems for four decades. Today, DCI faculty continues to lead the evolution and study of personal health technologies, web-based clinical computing systems, national health systems, and international comparative approaches. Our faculty is driven to find solutions to real-world problems. Current research areas of interest include designing and evaluating clinical information systems, translational research platforms, patient portals, patient engagement, quality improvement processes and analytics, clinical decision support systems, online learning systems, mobile health applications, and global e-health applications. Learn more about DCI at https://dci.bidmc.org

This program is made possible through generous support from Pfizer Inc. https://www.pfizer.com

Who is eligible to participate?

• Enrollment as a full-time Doctor of Pharmacy degree student in the United States in an ACPE-accredited school or college of pharmacy with anticipated graduation in 2027 or 2028.
• The internship is virtual but does require you to be a resident of the United States for the duration of the internship.
• A stipend is available, but it is optional. You must be eligible for employment in the U.S.

What are the application requirements?

• Submit an application via the online portal.
• Have your university send Good Academic Standing Letters or a letter from a dean/associate dean of student affairs. It must be sent from the university directly to Yuri Quintana at yquintan@bidmc.harvard.edu
• Upload transcript of courses and grades in the application portal
• Submit your essay on 1) why you are interested in informatics, 2) how your career trajectory, past and future, aligns with the field of informatics, and 3) what topics in informatics you are most interested in and why (3 pages max). Submit two letters of recommendation from a faculty member, a non-relative practicing pharmacist, or a practicing healthcare/informatics professional who has worked directly with you. Letters of recommendation and the letter in good standing need to be addressed to Yuri Quintana, Ph.D., Chief of Division of Clinical Informatics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and sent by email by the referees or the university administrator directly to Dr. Yuri Quintana at yquintan@bidmc.harvard.edu. Please have the candidate's name in the email subject header. A different individual must write each letter. Recommendation letters sent by the candidate will void the application.
• Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

How long will the application be open?

We will accept applications until January 31, 2027. Applicants will be notified if they are selected for a virtual interview with faculty members from the Division of Clinical Informatics program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Do I need to be eligible for employment?

This is an educational internship. Employment status is optional. If you don’t have a work permit, you can still do the internship—you just can’t get paid. Students must be currently enrolled in a U.S. pharmacy school and must be a legal resident on a student visa, a permanent resident of the U.S., or a U.S. citizen.

How many internships does the program award?

Currently, one pharmacy student will be awarded an internship in pharmacy clinical informatics and will be eligible for the available stipend. Additional paid or unpaid positions may open up.

What is the official starting date of the internship program?

While we will make every effort to accommodate individual schedules, the official start date is June 1, 2026 (with some flexibility of a week or two), and the internship ends 12 weeks later. 

You will receive notification of acceptance by March 30, 2027, or sooner. Apply Early!

Will I be compensated for the internship?

Only one internship is paid: a $7,500 stipend based on a 40-hour workweek over 12 weeks, paid upon completion, provided you have legal clearance to be paid in the United States. The stipend is optional, and you may decline it if you are using the internship for academic credit (which some students have done for IPPEs (Introductory Pharmacy Practice Experiences) and APPEs (Advanced Pharmacy Practice Experiences)) or if you do not have work authorization for 40 hours per week.

 Please note the internship will NOT provide:

• Travel expenses to and from practice sites
• Meals while in the program
• Housing expenses
• Other personal expenses while in the program

What will I do during the internship?

The pharmacy students selected will engage in the daily activities of clinical informatics and pharmacy practice. They will be exposed to population health and research, including outcomes. The areas of emphasis offered will be tailored to the student's background and future career objectives.

Interns will learn from experts in Clinical Informatics through a mix of didactic lectures, seminars, and guided learning. Additionally, students will receive mentoring from Harvard Medical School faculty members in the Division of Clinical Informatics (DCI).

Mentors are Harvard faculty members and senior pharmacists in leadership positions at Pfizer.

With guidance from DCI faculty and the Pfizer Clinical Informatics, Medical Outcomes & Analytics group, interns will conceptualize, develop, and complete a project focused on improving the quality of patient care through informatics.

What will be expected after the internship?

The interns will be expected to create a substantive report that describes the design and implementation of the internship project. This report could be used as the basis for a scientific publication. The interns will also be required to present the project to the DCI and members of the Pfizer Medical Affairs team.

The interns will be encouraged to submit their work to the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) Annual Conference or other pharmacy conferences, such as the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Past students have published papers at the American Medical Informatics Association (AMIA) annual conference. Student Zoe Liao placed third in the AMIA student competition!

Where are our past interns?

Past interns have gone on to academic graduate programs, industry positions, and healthcare provider roles. See where our past interns are.

Chris Lim
Avantika Pathak
Zoe LiaoIvann AgapitoSamantha Valliant, PharmD
Natalie Karapetian
Brooke Lawler
Sara Saif
Tien Bui 
Laura Choi
Ivann Iagapito
Darcy Tocci
Jenna Davey
Osaretin Otagho 
Jay Smith 
Sally Pham 
Sophia Nguyen