Announcement - Medical & Dental Students Wanted

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National Institutes of Health

Native Brief: BETHESDA, MARYLAND - A new Medical Research Scholars Program for medical and dental students will begin in September 2012 in Bethesda, Maryland, the National Institutes of Health has announced. The program will offer research experiences with intramural investigators from across National Institutes of Health in basic science laboratories, and in clinical and translational research conducted at the National Institutes of Health 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, MD PhD. "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, MD, 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. American Indian students should apply.

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.

posted September 1, 2011 6:30 am edt