Host a Youth Fellow
Invest in the Next Generation of Innovators.
Our Youth Fellowship Program places high school and college students with lived experience of Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) into hands-on research, advocacy, and innovation roles at mission-aligned institutions.
As a host site, you’ll help shape the next generation of diabetes leaders—while gaining fresh insight, creative energy, and deep community connection. Fellows don’t just observe—they lead, contribute, and elevate every project they touch.
👩🔬 What Fellows Bring
- Lived expertise with T1D systems, barriers, and devices—bringing perspectives not found in textbooks
- Cultural fluency, particularly across BIPOC, LGBTQ+, rural, and low-income communities
- Core research competencies, including IRB ethics, qualitative interviews, survey design, and literature review
- Science communication & outreach, including social media, digital storytelling, health literacy translation, and community engagement
- Policy and innovation fluency, with training in health equity, design thinking, and systems advocacy
Fellows are selected through a competitive national process, supported by KFD staff, and receive a full stipend thanks to donor support. Many are first-generation students and emerging scientists with a personal mission to advance care.
🧪 Where Fellows Contribute
Our fellows have contributed to:
- Health equity research labs: Developing interview guides, analyzing transcripts, or co-authoring publications
- Biomedical engineering teams: Testing glucose monitoring prototypes, refining user experience, or supporting clinical integration
- Mental health nonprofits: Creating youth-informed curriculum, co-leading webinars, or developing school-based resources
- Endocrinology clinics: Improving patient communication flows, youth advisory councils, and onboarding processes
- Advocacy and policy orgs: Writing op-eds, preparing policy briefs, and planning grassroots campaigns
Projects may range from 6 to 12 weeks, depending on site capacity and student availability.
🧭 Host Site Expectations
We ask host organizations to:
- Define a meaningful, mission-aligned project or internship with clear deliverables
- Assign a dedicated mentor or supervisor to guide weekly activities, feedback, and reflection
- Participate in a short onboarding orientation and join midpoint and final check-ins with KFD staff and youth fellows
- Provide a welcoming, inclusive space that values youth voice, feedback, and learning—whether virtual, hybrid, or in-person
- Offer professional development exposure (e.g. invite to team meetings, poster sessions, or networking opportunities)
We especially welcome institutions committed to health equity, innovation, and youth empowerment.
💡 Interested in Hosting?
Whether you have a fully scoped project or simply want to explore possibilities, we’d love to connect.
Email [email protected] with your:
- Name, organization, and contact info
- Area of focus or research/advocacy interests
- Potential timeline and format (in-person, remote, hybrid)
- Capacity to mentor or co-mentor youth fellows
We’ll follow up with a call to learn more about your goals and explore a strong fit.
Let’s build the future of diabetes care—with young leaders at the helm.
