NIH welcomes 52 young scientists to year-long medical research scholars program

For Immediate Release
June 22, 2016

Contact:
Molly Freimuth
301-549-5789

NIH welcomes 52 young scientists to year-long medical research scholars program

The National Institutes of Health has selected 52 innovative, research-oriented students for the 2016-2017 Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP). A year-long residential program, the MRSP introduces medical, dental and veterinary students to cutting-edge research, and is part of NIH's goal of training the next generation of clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers. The program places students in NIH laboratories and patient care areas, including the NIH Clinical Center, to conduct basic, translational, or clinical research in areas that match their career interests and research goals. 

The fifth class of MRSP participants include two dental students and 50 medical students. They represent 34 accredited universities in the United States.

“The program is an incredible opportunity for us to get involved with NIH at an early stage of our careers, and is an invaluable experience in preparing us to be the next generation of physicians who are able to advance innovative patient care through research,” said Sonia Guar, a 2016-17 MRSP scholar from Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia. “I am so excited to work closely with mentors and future colleagues who are united by a strong passion for expanding and tackling medicine through the process of discovery.”

“This year-long research enrichment program is very often the starting point for a successful research-oriented career. These 52 scholars clearly represent future academic leaders and biomedical researchers in this country,” said Frederick P. Ognibene, M.D., NIH Clinical Center Deputy Director for Educational Affairs and Strategic Partnerships.

In addition to a rigorous research agenda, MRSP scholars participate in lecture series focusing on career development, journal club seminars, clinical teaching rounds, and other courses. They also highlight their research in formal presentations to the NIH community and at professional conferences. Each scholar is assigned an advisor, who provides guidance in defining a well-articulated career development plan and selecting a dedicated NIH research mentor. Mentors are fulltime NIH investigators with established and successful basic, translational, or clinical research programs.

The MRSP is co-sponsored by the NIH and other partners, including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the American Association for Dental Research, the Colgate-Palmolive Company, Genentech and alumni of student research programs and other individual supporters via contributions to the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health. More than 180 students have completed the program since 2012. The 2016–2017 NIH MRSP participants are:

Name

School

Marib Akanda

State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine, Brooklyn

Julie (Yajie) An

Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, Rootstown

Joseph Baiocco

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

Jason Berglund

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston

Thomas Bolig

Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit

Alejandro Bugarini

San Juan Bautista School of Medicine, Caguas, Puerto Rico

Steven Cai

Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

Brian Calio

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

‘Angela’ Wei Chen

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Xenia Chepa-Lotrea

Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.

Ashley Chorath

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

Jonathan Chung

State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine

Hannah Conn

Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.

Sonia Gaur

Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia

Vissagan Gopalakrishnan

Rush Medical College of Rush University Medical Center, Chicago

Daniel Gromer

The Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Alex Grubb

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

Kathryn Harris

Meharry Medical College School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee

Therese Korndorf

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine

Ira Kraft

University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City

Daniel Kuhr

University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, New York

Clare Landefeld

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

John Le

University of Michigan School of Dentistry, Ann Arbor

Melissa Levoska

Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit

Jeffrey Lin

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Anna Louie

University of Nevada School of Medicine, Reno

Rachel Marchalik

Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C.

Matthew McCord

University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville

Megan Morisada

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

Sachin Nair

University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City

Jannett Nguyen

University of California, Irvine, College of Medicine

Ukpebo Omosigho

University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, Memphis

John Ostrominski

University of Texas School of Medicine at San Antonio, San Antonio

Oyetewa Oyerinde

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine

Varun Padmanaban

Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia

Chandana Papudesu

Georgia Health Sciences University, Augusta

Alexandra Pietraszkiewicz

University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington

Jacqueline Pires

University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester

Stephen Raithel

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

Joshua Rivers

Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit

Hannah Robinson

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

Gregory Roloff

University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, New York

Mohammad Siddiqui

University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison

Richard Smith

Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia

Katie Spielbauer

Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, East Lansing

Dordaneh Sugano

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Bronx, New York

Samiksha Tarun

Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Kevin Terashima

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Ankita Tippur

Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta

Giacomo Waller

Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta

Suzanne Ward

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

Roy Xiao

Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

 

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About the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP):  The IRP is the internal research program of the NIH, known for its synergistic approach to biomedical science.  With approximately 1,100 principal investigators and more than 4,000 postdoctoral fellows conducting basic, translational, and clinical research, the IRP is the world's largest biomedical research institution. For more information about the IRP and its programs, visit www.irp.nih.gov.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):  NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

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