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NIH LAUNCHES MEDICAL RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM

A new Medical Research Scholars Program for medical and dental students will begin in September 2012 in Bethesda, Md., the National Institutes of Health has announced. The program will offer research experiences with intramural investigators from across NIH in basic science laboratories, and in clinical and translational research conducted at the NIH Clinical Center, the world’s largest hospital dedicated to patient-oriented research.

The program is made possible through a partnership with the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health supported by a grant from Pfizer Inc and contributions from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

“Medical discoveries of tomorrow depend on the students we train today,” said NIH Director Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. “This program will help ensure that there is a steady pipeline of scientists conducting the full range of biomedical research. The program will offer a broad range of exceptional research opportunities, exposure to cutting edge technology, and critical policy issues for promising students.”

The Medical Research Scholars Program builds upon the long history that the NIH intramural program has had in preparing clinician-scientists for leadership roles in biomedical research and incorporates the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-NIH Research Scholars Program and the NIH Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP). The HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program has historically focused on research in the basic sciences. CRTP participants engage in clinical and translational research. Basic, clinical, and translational research will be part of the Medical Research Scholars Program.

“Pfizer has a long tradition of supporting medical education and is proud to support the NIH Clinical Center, one of the most important teaching and research hospitals in the world,” said Freda Lewis-Hall, M.D., executive vice president and chief medical officer of Pfizer Inc. “Those who benefit from the Medical Research Scholars Program will gain special insight into many conditions where further research and greater medical understanding are urgently needed.”

Program applications will be accepted Oct. 1, 2011 through mid-January 2012. About 40 students are expected to be admitted during the program’s first year. The goal is to accept up to 70 students as the program grows.

Support for students selected for the program includes a stipend and resources for education enrichment, such as travel to scientific meetings. There will be a curriculum in clinical protocol development and the conduct of human subjects research, along with seminars focusing on basic and laboratory studies and their translation into clinical protocols.

“HHMI is pleased to have an ongoing role in this important NIH initiative,” said Robert Tjian, president of the Institute. “Our support will enable NIH to continue a long-running seminar series that brings these clinician-scientists into contact with leading researchers from around the nation. These opportunities — coupled with the experience of working in an NIH lab — can inspire a lifelong commitment to research.”

The ACOFP Public Health & Wellness Committee has announced a call for entries to the Seventh Annual Namey/Burnett Preventive Medicine Award Competition. The award honors the best preventive medicine scientific papers submitted by osteopathic family medicine residents, interns and medical students. Applicants must be a member of the ACOFP to enter.

Papers will be judged on:

* Originality
* Pertinence to family physicians and patients
* Adaptability to patient-handouts
* Demonstrated writing skill.
Two papers will be recognized. Completed applications and papers must be received at ACOFP headquarters by December 15, 2011 to be eligible for the competition. Learn more at:

http://ACOFP.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0xMjY3ODI3JnA9MSZ1PTc2Mjg5MjA0NSZsaT01NTc3NzM1/index.html

As it has done since 2006, the bureau will bestow up to three awards: a $5,000 first prize, a $3,000 second prize and a $2,000 third prize.

for more information, visit:

http://www.linkedin.com/news?viewArticle=&articleID=689093415&gid=76192&type=member&item=65285016&articleURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Edo-online%2Eorg%2FTheDO%2F%3Fp%3D66991&urlhash=cYxM&goback=%2Egde_76192_member_65285016

Year-Long Program
The Medical Research Fellows Program (“Med Fellows Program”) supports a year of full-time biomedical research training for medical, dental, and veterinary students enrolled in schools in the U.S. This includes joint initiatives with the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) for students conducting research in ophthalmology, particularly inherited retinal degenerative diseases, with the GM Trust (GMT) for a student researcher in a field related to Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), with the Society of Interventional Radiology Foundation (SIRF) for a medical student conducting preclinical research in interventional radiology, and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF) for veterinary students.

The fellowship research may be conducted at any academic or nonprofit institution in the United States, except the National Institutes of Health. Research may be conducted abroad if the fellow’s mentor is affiliated with a U.S. institution.

The Medical Research Fellows Program at Janelia Farm offers students with an interest in neuronal networking and/or imaging at the cellular or molecular level, an intense year-long research training experience, living and working at the HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, Virginia in the Washington, D.C., area. Students must comply with specific eligibility and application requirements.

Year-Long Program: View Potential Mentors

Summer Program
The new Summer Medical Fellows Program provides an 8-10 week research experience for medical, dental, and veterinary students in the laboratories of HHMI investigators and Janelia Farm researchers. More…

For more information, visit: http://www.hhmi.org/grants/individuals/medfellows.html