Current Students

Research Programs

Research is an important part of the mission of P&S and many opportunities are available to students, including funded research in the summer after first year, research electives in fourth year, and time off for full time research, usually taken for one year between third and fourth year. Information about research faculty and potential research topics is found within the website for each department.  Each department has also designated an individual, listed below, to assist P&S students in finding a research mentor in their area of interest.

Research in the summer after first year (for P&S students only):

P&S offers a robust summer research program for interested P&S students. Faculty from all P&S departments and many centers serve as mentors to assist students in their research application and summer research. Students apply for NIH-funded research in basic, clinical, or translational research. Faculty are also available for projects in epidemiology and bioethics. An informational meeting occurs in the fall of first year. Faculty who have recently served as mentors are listed here. 

Research electives in fourth year (for P&S students only):

P&S students are allowed to take up to three months for research electives in the fourth year. Research must be full time and proposals must be approved in advance by the Electives subcommittee at P&S. Students must also complete a 2 page paper at the conclusion of the elective month.  

Full time research in year off (for P&S students only):

Many students choose to take a year off from the core curriculum to pursue their research interests, usually between the Major Clinical Year and Electives year.  The names of potential research faculty are available through advisory deans, the Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs, and Residency Advisors in the specialty of interest. They are also available through the departmental research contact below. Some mentors in summer research have also mentored students in a research year.

Several fellowships, listed below, provide funding for selected students. Details regarding their mission, applicant eligibility and deadlines are available at the respective websites. Departments are sometimes able to provide some funding for P&S students who do not have funding through a fellowship.

American Diabetes Association
     Clinical Scholars Award
Synopsis:These awards provide one year of research support to students interested in clinical and basic science diabetes research. Those working on MD, PharmD, DPM or DO degrees (after completing two or more years) are eligible. Awards are $30,000 a year for one year. Applicants may request up to $20,000 for the stipend and up to $10,000 for tuition, laboratory materials/supplies, and grant-related travel.  DEADLINE 1/15/2011

American Society of Nephrology
     Student Scholars Grant
Synopsis:  The sponsor provides support to enable selected medical students with an interest in either basic or clinical research to spend from ten to fifty-two weeks engaged in continuous full-time research. Funding includes a stipend of $400 per week, $100 per week for research supplies, and up to $1,500 to attend the ASN national meeting.  DEADLINE  12/17/2010 (for funding to start January to December 2011)

CDC Foundation
     CDC Experience—Applied Epidemiology Fellowship
Synopsis:  The CDC Experience Applied Epidemiology Fellowship is a one-year fellowship in applied epidemiology for medical students and is designed to increase the pool of physicians with a population health perspective. Each year, eight medical students spend 10-12 months at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta. With the guidance of experienced CDC epidemiologists, they perform epidemiologic analyses and research, design public health interventions, and assist in field investigations. Possible areas of concentration include birth defects, injury prevention, chronic disease, infectious disease, environmental health, reproductive health and minority health.  DEADLINE 12/3/2010

Doris Duke Charitable Foundation
     Clinical Research Fellowship Program for Medical Students
     Dr. Jaime S. Rubin, Director of Research Development
      212-342-3184 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              212-342-3184      end_of_the_skype_highlighting begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              212-342-3184      end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Synopsis:  The sponsor provides support for medical students to pursue a career in clinical research by allowing them to take a year off from their formal schooling and experience clinical research first hand at an academic medical center which offers a wide range of clinical research opportunities. Students should apply in their second or third year of a U.S. medical school for a start date of July 2011.

Howard Hughes Medical Institute
     HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program (Cloister Program)
Synopsis:  Research Scholars spend nine months to a year on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), conducting basic, translational or applied biomedical research under the direct mentorship of senior NIH research scientists. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute provides the administration and funding for the program, including the salaries and benefits for the Research Scholars. The NIH provides advisors, mentors, laboratory space, and equipment and supplies for laboratory work. Forty-two medical, dental, and veterinary students will be selected.
Research Scholars spend nine months to a year on the campus of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD), conducting basic, translational or applied biomedical research under the direct mentorship of senior NIH research scientists. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute provides the administration and funding for the program, including the salaries and benefits for the Research Scholars. The NIH provides advisors, mentors, laboratory space, and equipment and supplies for laboratory work. Forty-two medical, dental, and veterinary students will be selected.  DEADLINE 1/10/2011

Hughes (Howard) Medical Institute
     Medical Research Fellows Program
Synopsis:This Program supports a year of full-time biomedical research training for medical, dental, and veterinary students. The fellowship research may be conducted at any academic or nonprofit institution in the United States, except the National Institutes of Health. Research may be conducted abroad if the fellow's mentor is affiliated with a U.S. institution. Fellows must be able to start their research year between June 1, 2011 and September 1, 2011. There is a joint initiative with the Foundation Fighting Blindness (FFB) for students conducting research in ophthalmology, particularly inherited retinal degenerative diseases. A new initiative, the Medical Research Fellows Program at Janelia Farm, offers students with an interest in neuronal networking and/or imaging an intense year-long research training experience, living and working at the HHMI Janelia Farm Research Campus in Ashburn, VA. In 2011, HHMI plans to award up to 66 fellowships. DEADLINE  11/1/10, 1/11/2011

 National Institutes of Health/Fogarty Clinical Research Training Program
     Overseas Fellowships in Global Health and Clinical Research
Synopsis:The sponsor offers a one-year clinical research training experience for graduate level students in the health professions. This is an opportunity for highly motivated individuals to experience mentored research training at top-ranked NIH-funded research centers in developing countries. DEADLINE 11/19/2010

National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
     Medical Student Research Training Program
Synopsis:This program is funded via “supplemental slots” to NIDDK training grants (T32) and is designed to provide medical students with a mentored research training experience. Only students able to commit a minimum of 9 months, up to a maximum of 12 months, full time, may apply. A maximum of 18 students per year nationwide will be funded. Support will consist of a stipend at the current published predoctoral stipend level as well as $4,200 for research support and health insurance, and $1,000 for travel to a scientific meeting. NIDDK’s T32 research areas include those of: Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Disease; Kidney Research; Urology Research; Hematology Research; Gastroenterology & Hepatology Research; and Nutrition and Obesity Research. A listing of current NIDDK training programs may be found here  DEADLINE  4/5/11

National Institutes of Health/ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
     Fellowships in Environmental Medicine for Medical Students
Synopsis:  This is a one-year program involving laboratory, epidemiological, or clinical research related to environmental health issues. Students work under the direction of a principal investigator at the NIEHS Division of Intramural Research. Most projects take place at the NIEHS central campus at Research Triangle Park, NC while some investigators are located at the NIH central campus in Bethesda, MD. Students are provided with a stipend and the preceptor receives a lab budget.  DEADLINE 2/27/09

National Institutes of Health
     Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP)
Synopsis:  The Program is a 12-month program designed to attract the most creative, research-oriented medical and dental students to the intramural campus of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD. Participants, known as Fellows, spend a year engaged in a mentored clinical or translational research. Up to 30 fellows will be selected.  DEADLINE 1/17/2011

Pharmaceutical Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) Foundation
     Paul Calabresi Medical Student Research Fellowship
Synopsis:  The sponsor provides support to medical or dental students who have substantial interests in research and teaching careers in pharmacology and clinical pharmacology, and who are willing to spend full-time in a specific research effort within a pharmacology or clinical pharmacology unit. The student may undertake this investigative effort at her/his own school or at another institution. Fellowships are available for a minimum period of six months or any period of time up to twenty-four months. DEADLINE  2/1/2011

Research to Prevent Blindness
     Medical Student Fellowships
Synopsis:  This program allows students to take a year off from medical school and devote time to the pursuit of a research project within an RPB grantee department. The fellowship, which must take place prior to the third or fourth year of medical school, will be funded for one year with a $30K grant, a portion of which should be utilized to help finance the recipient's eye research activities.
DEADLINE  1/1/2011, 7/1/2011

Sarnoff (Stanley J.) Endowment for Cardiovascular Science
     Research Training for Medical Students
Synopsis:The Program offers medical students the opportunity to spend a year conducting intensive work in a biomedical research facility in the United States (other than the medical school in which they are enrolled). Funding provides for a stipend and an allowance to support travel, moving expenses, health insurance and computer equipment.  DEADLINE 1/12/2011

Research Resources for P&S Students

The opportunities to engage in research in one of the many departments are plentiful.  Where possible, a faculty member has been identified as a point of contact.  If no faculty member is identified, the link will take you to the department for you to explore. 

NIH Summer Fellowship for 1st year P&S students ONLY  (Sakai Site, Uni protected)

Summer Opportunities