The goal of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine Short-Term Medical Student Training Program in Renal, GI, Endocrine and Epithelial Biology is to foster an interest in scientific investigation as a career objective for medical students. We provide students with an opportunity to participate in biomedical research with highly qualified mentors and role models. Our program supports a summer research training experience for medical students between the first and second year of medical school. This program is designed to introduce students to a rigorous approach to scientific inquiry in basic science or clinical investigation, with a focus on three major areas of research: (1) renal and epithelial cell biology, (2) digestive and hepatic disorders, and (3) endocrinology and diabetes. Trainees are selected by an executive committee on the basis of student-authored project proposals developed with and endorsed by faculty members of the training program. Faculty members serve both as research trainers and as mentors.
The future of medical progress depends on the translation of advances from the bench to the bedside, and an interdisciplinary approach to complex problems. The continuation of these meritorious goals, captured in this training proposal, will help assure that a diverse and highly- trained workforce is available in the future to carry out important biomedical and translational research.
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