NIH expands medical scholars program, announces new class

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For Immediate Release Thursday, April 9, 2015

Contact Molly Hooven 301-549-5789

NIH expands medical scholars program, announces new class

The National Institutes of Health has selected 55 talented and diverse students, representing 37 U.S.-accredited universities, for the fourth class of its Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP), its largest class to date.

A yearlong residential program, the MRSP introduces medical, dental and veterinary students to cutting-edge research, part of NIH's goal of training the next generation of clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers. The program places creative, research-oriented students in NIH laboratories and clinics, including within the NIH Clinical Center, to conduct basic, clinical or translational research in areas that match their career interests and research goals.
A mentored research training experience forms the core of this program and allows these future clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers to carry out research across the full spectrum of science in the interest of improving public health.

"The NIH has a proud history of training clinician-scientists, many of whom have gone on to win the Nobel Prize or to lead major medical research organizations," said Michael Gottesman, M.D., deputy director for intramural research at NIH. "These students will be introduced to incredibly innovative research, among the best in the world, and I know they will be up to the challenge."

The 55 selected participants include 54 medical and one dental student and include 25 females and 13 from underrepresented minority groups.

"Competition for this program is intense, and we have had the good fortune of being able to pick from the very best of the best," said Yvonne Maddox, Ph.D., acting director of NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a major financial supporter of this year’s class. Maddox, a member of the MRSP recruitment team, also stated, "Our new class more closely resembles the diversity that has made the United States a world leader in technology and biomedical research and reflects a concerted recruitment effort to reach out to more segments of the research and academic communities."

In addition to a rigorous research agenda, MRSP scholars participate in courses, journal club seminars, a structured lecture series and clinical teaching rounds. They also present their research to the NIH community and at domestic professional conferences. Each scholar is assigned a tutor/advisor, who provides guidance in defining a well-articulated career development plan and in selecting a dedicated NIH research mentor. Mentors are fulltime NIH investigators with established basic, clinical or translational research programs.

The MRSP is co-sponsored by the NIH and other partners via contributions to the Foundation for the NIH. The 55 selected participants for the 2015–2016 NIH MRSP are provided below.

Comfort O. Elumogo	Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Saman Sizdahkhani	Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University
Taylor J. Aiken	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Chinedu I. Anyaeji	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Lauren G. Banaszak	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Ruth J. Davis	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Adeeb Derakhshan	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Scott A. Galey	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Matthew D. Greer	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Elizabeth A. Hinds	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Damilola Phillips	Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University
Karissa Arthur	Commonwealth Medical College
Monica K. Neuman	Creighton University School of Medicine
Renee M. Thomas	David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
Michael J. Hochman	Duke University School of Medicine
Ehren K. Dancy	Emory University School of Medicine
Christian M. Mustroph	Emory University School of Medicine
Christopher T. Sauter	Emory University School of Medicine
Jason A. Alvarez	Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Nicole A. Colwell	Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine
Luca F. Valle	Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth
Brittany U. Oliver	George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences
Maggie M. Wei	Georgetown University School of Medicine
Lauren A. Barber	Harvard Medical School
David J. Kirby	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Jana P. Lovell	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Tina Munjal	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Steven J. Penybaker	Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Stephen Xue	Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans
Matthew J. Watson	Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine
Joseph B. Lerman	Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University
Diana P. Melo	New York University School of Medicine
Eugenia H. Miranti	Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine
Rachel J. Hunt	Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
Janani Singaravelu	Ohio State University College of Medicine
Roger B. Murayi	Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Victor R. Carlson	Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Andrew M. Sohn	Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University
Michael A. Simmons	University of Arizona College of Medicine
James S. Nix	University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine
David Kuo	University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine
Brandon K. Tan	University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Houda Boucekkine	University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Tarek Metwally	University of Michigan School of Dentistry
Eric D. Merrill	University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine
Lingsheng Li	University of Oklahoma College of Medicine
Michael Kongnyuy	University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine
Elizabeth J. Carstens	University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas
Amanda Truong	University of Utah School of Medicine
Ishan Asokan	Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Akhil Muthigi	Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Barrington A. Quarrie	Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Roop K. Dutta	Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Alanna K. Tisdale	Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University
Tsion M. Aberra	Yale University School of Medicine

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.