For the past twenty-six years NRSA support has been critically important for medical student research training at the University of Michigan Medical School. In this new era of rapid advances in biotechnology and scientific knowledge, increasingly complex healthcare needs amid rising healthcare costs, and limited research dollars, NRSA support from medical student research is more important than ever before. The Student Biomedical Research Program (SBRP) provides an intensive ten-week mentored summer research training program for medical students between their first and second years. Students participate in a strong didactic program in research fundamentals and pursue basic, translational, or clinical research projects under the supervision of 146 faculty mentors representing 24 basic science and clinical disciplines. All mentors have active extramural support (98% of whom have NIH funding). The goals of the SBRP are to: (1) Provide students with the opportunity to learn research concepts and methodology from experienced investigators, and assess their desire to pursue careers in research;(2) Expand the scholarly and research experiences of medical students as part of an overall career development strategy aimed at increasing the number of talented students choosing careers as physician scientists;(3) Promote high quality and intensive research opportunities for those students who are already on a path toward academic medicine;(4) Provide students who elect not to go into academic medicine an understanding of the scientific method and critical analysis of literature through their research experience;(5) Increase the number of underrepresented minority medical students who participate in a research experience, and ultimately choose careers as physician scientists;(6) Promote research experiences that can develop into longer-term student-faculty mentoring relationships;(7) Provide trainees with experience in scientific presentation and publication of research through the Annual Student Biomedical Research Fall Forum, and other scientific meetings at a regional or national level;and (8) Provide students with a high quality didactic program in research with an emphasis on the ethical and responsible conduct of research. Well trained, critically thinking physician investigators are vital for the translation of medical discovery and biotechnology advancement into improved patient care. The NIH and other institutions have recognized the need to increase the number of US physician scientists and enhance the quality of healthcare and foster clinically relevant innovative research. The SBRP at the University of Michigan, with NRSA support, has a long history of helping to meet this need. This competing continuation features new leadership who are experienced in the pursuit of basic and translational biomedical research and who are committed to enhancing the scientific training experience of our outstanding students at Michigan.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 66 publications
