Medical Students

Purpose

The College of Medicine Summer Research Program offers medical students the opportunity to work with faculty on research projects in basic or clinical disciplines for a 10-week period. The students are matched with a faculty mentor in their chosen area of interests. The student and faculty mentors will discuss the summer project prior to initiation of work in the laboratory. Additionally, the program will feature various group activities, including a weekly meeting to further explore the principles of scientific investigation, including topics of publication, research funding, ethical aspects of human and animal experimentation, regulatory issues, and peer-review. In addition, students will have the opportunity to attend scientific seminars and workshops. Faculty mentors are located at the College Station, Bryan, Temple, and Houston campuses and students will be assigned to mentors convenient to their summer residence. Upon completion of this program, students will be better prepared to undertake scientific investigation (basic and clinical) and will be allowed the opportunity to continue their studies through medical school.

Identifying a Mentor

Students should generally seek mentors who have ongoing research projects which are congruent with the students’ interest. The research interests and ongoing research projects of faculty in each department can be found in a few different places.

Summer Research Program http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/research/student/summer-research-programs/brief-listing.html

COM Graduate Studies Basic Sciences http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/basic-sciences/index.html

COM Programmatic Overview http://medicine.tamhsc.edu/education/graduate-studies/programs/index.html

You are strongly encouraged to directly approach faculty and discuss possible summer research projects. The members of the Summer Research Program Steering Committee (Dr. Kayla Bayless, Dr. Sharon DeMorrow, Dr. David Huston, Dr. Julian Leibowitz, Dr. Brent Mitchell, Dr. Ian Murray, Dr. Samba Reddy, Dr. Mendell Rimer, Dr. Veronica Sanchez, Dr. Andrea Trache, Dr. Emily Wilson, Dr. Van Wilson, and Dr. Warren Zimmer) can also assist students in identifying potential mentors.

Once you identify a mentor, have them send an email to Levins@medicint.tamhsc.edu confirming they have agreed to be your mentor for the summer.

Prior to Start Date

Accepted students, in conjunction with their mentors, will write a research plan describing their proposed research. The Research Plan should be 1-3 pages in length, and will consist of:

1. Title of Project
2. Specific Aims (objectives)
3. Introduction and Background
4. Experimental Approach, including Methods
5. Significance
6. IRB or AUP approval number of project
7. Key References (this section will not count against the page limit)

Your research plan should be sent by email to levins@medicine.tamhsc.edu (Rachel Levins) in PDF format, by Friday, May 25, 2012.