Veterinarians are a valuable but underutilized source of potential biomedical researchers. Exposing veterinary students to a rewarding research experience may stimulate them to pursue research careers. The DCM at SU can provide veterinary students with excellent summer experiences in neuroscience and infectious disease research. The proposed program includes: 1) strategies for advertising and recruiting students; 2) affordable housing for students during the summer; 3) preceptors who are veterinary researchers or who collaborate with veterinarians; 4) opportunities for students to work in productive and well-funded laboratories that have experience training researchers; 5) lectures, laboratories, and workshops on research-related topics; 6) sessions on career development with individual veterinary researchers of various backgrounds and specialties; 7) interactions with other veterinary student researchers; and 8) an evaluation plan for assessing the program's success in steering students into research careers.
