Russell L. Carpenter Summer Internship
The Russell L. Carpenter Fund for Teaching and Research in Biology at Tufts University was established in 1987 by Cynthia McFadden and Russell F. Carpenter in honor of their father, distinguished Tufts alumnus and Professor of Zoology, Russell LeGrand "Bud" Carpenter, A24, H77.
Bud first entered Tufts as a student in 1920, intending to study English. But thanks to the inspiring lectures of Tufts biology professors Herbert Neal and Fred Lambert, Bud decided to study biology and a lifelong passion began.
After graduation in 1924, Bud attended Harvard University, earning a doctorate in zoology in 1928. He taught at Columbia University, in the College of Physicians and Surgeons, before eventually deciding to return to his alma mater.
For the thirty years that was his teaching career at Tufts (1938-1968), Bud was a much-loved, well-respected professor. His research eventually led to the creation of the Radiobiology Research Laboratory, where he served as director and principal investigator. Bud also established the Tufts University Barnum Collection, which included letters and personal mementos of P.T. Barnum and acted as the collection's curator.
Bud was also a loyal and dedicated alumnus. For almost seventy years, he was secretary of the Class of 1924. He was the inaugural editor of the Tufts Alumni Review, president of the New York Tufts Club, and a member of the Tufts Alumni Council. He received the Tufts Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1942 and served on the committees in charge of redesigning the Tufts Seal and the Tufts Chair.
Professor Carpenter retired from Tufts in 1969 and, in 1977, Tufts presented him with an honorary degree, recognizing his life-long dedication to his alma mater, both professionally and personally.
Application Process
The application for the Russell L. Carpenter Internship (below) is the same as the Biology Undergraduate Summer Research Internship. Students should only submit one application to be considered for both funding opportunities.
Application Deadline: February 5th, 2026
Award to be Announced: February 17th, 2026
Please submit application materials to the Biology Department.
Programs from other universities are posted on the bulletin board across from the Biology Department office, and on our Research Opportunities webpage.
2025 Carpenter Summer Internship Recipients
Sofia Movafaghi-Giral this past summer, continued her investigation of pathogenic AAGGG DNA repeats in the lab of Dr. Sergei Mirkin this past summer. She studied DNA damage response proteins involved in facilitating DNA replication through these repeats by developing a pull-down and mass spectrometry-based method to identify and characterize proteins associated with pathogenic repetitive DNA sequences.
Alexander Mayerhofer conducted research in Dr. Trimmer's Biomimetic and Neuromechanical Devices Lab, which primarily studies neuroethology in Manduca sexta. I examined the role of mechanical programming and motor patterning in gait expression across caterpillar species by using surgical perturbations to alter proleg function, computational analysis to interpret kinematic video data, and a soft-bodied robot that I developed to further isolate mechanical and neuronal drivers. Results suggest that mechanical programming (specifically caterpillar proleg morphology) is a primary driver of gait expression, providing a potential evolutionary mechanism for the development of new gaits.
Learn more about our Carpenter Summer Intern Alumni.