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Seven Harvard Medical School students are among the 66 exceptional medical, dental and veterinary students from schools throughout the U.S. who have been selected to receive the 2018-2019 Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Medical Research Fellowships, a program which aims to develop the next generation of physician-scientists.
The program offers students the opportunity to take a year away from their training to immerse themselves in a mentored laboratory-based research project that they have proposed. Each fellow receives $43,000 in grant support.
“The Medical Research Fellows Program is a unique opportunity for students to explore the intersection of science and medicine firsthand in a rigorous and supportive environment. Our hope is that the experience will ignite students’ passion for research and encourage them to pursue careers as physician-scientists,” says David Asai, HHMI’s senior director for science education.
The six first-time HHMI Medical Research Fellows from HMS, who will all complete their research at the School, are London Society students Uday Agrawal, Erik Bao, Min Young Jang and Patrick Lee, as well as Peabody Society student Aaron Cheng. Cannon Society student Sean Wang will do research at HMS with support from the Foundation Fighting Blindness.
Additionally, three students who are HHMI Medical Research Fellows from other institutions will be visiting students at HMS next year, including Stephanie Chou from California Northstate University College of Medicine, Kathleen Hanlon from the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and Angela Zhu from the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine.
Cannon Society Student Bennet Cho, who was a 2017–2018 Medical Research Fellow, has been funded for an additional year in the program. The following 2017-2018 Fellows have received funding for an additional year at HMS: Jessica Briscoe, visiting graduate student in neurosurgery from Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine; Anna Cheng, visiting graduate student in pediatrics from USF Health Morsani College of Medicine; and Monica Pomaville, visiting graduate student in pediatrics from Michigan State University College of Human Medicine.The HHMI Fellows, who come from 38 schools throughout the United States, chose their mentors and worked with them to propose a potentially high-impact research project when they applied to the program.
All HHMI Med Fellows have prior experience with bench research, but the year-long fellowship offers new opportunities to develop skills and explore scientific interests more deeply.
Adapted from an HHMI news release.
