BTC Institute / Promega Summer Research Internship
This past summer, UW-Madison Genetics & Genomics students Aneena Kalarithara and Casey Lynch interned as Summer Research Interns at the BTC Institute and Promega Corporation. They worked alongside many professionals in the biotech industry, including our very own Dr. Sharon Tang, and learned a variety of laboratory techniques.
Aneena worked independently on a cloning project designing a BRD4 bromodomain fusion — an extension of her work from the Dilworth Lab at UW-Madison. Under Jim Hartnett’s mentorship at Promega, she gained hands-on experience designing primers and Gibson Assembly experiments. A highlight was learning to program the Tecan robot to automate precise liquid transfers. Presenting her work at the Promega Intern Showcase gave her valuable practice communicating science to diverse audiences.
For Casey, the internship sparked an unexpected career shift. He adapted two of Promega’s luminescent assays to develop a working protocol for measuring energy output and oxidative stress in zebrafish embryos—real method development that sets up the next phase of the Pelegri Lab’s hybrid fish research. “Being trusted to lead my own research with access to their wealth of lab resources was invaluable,” Casey reflects. The experience sparked a new interest in lab automation and changed everything. “I came into the summer as a pre-med student, and this experience completely changed how I saw biotech. I’m now planning a career in the industry instead.”
For Aneena and Casey, this internship proved transformative—offering real research, real mentorship, and real career clarity.
Genetics DNA — published May 2026
