For the past 10 years, students, residents and junior faculty at Washington University School of Medicine have presented basic, clinical and translational research projects at an annual research training symposium and poster session on the Medical Campus.
This year, 125 participants gave oral presentations and displayed posters on research ranging from the genetics of brain metastasis related to lung cancer, to risk factors for radiation optic neuropathy, to identifying frailty among surgical patients. When the program began 10 years ago, there were only 25 participants.
Much of the research gets its start during the school’s annual Summer Research Program (SRP). More than 90 percent of School of Medicine students participate in the SRP, which is directed by the Office of Medical Student Research. Five years ago, students from Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tenn., also began participating in the SRP and the annual poster session.
Students receive stipends to conduct research for two months, and then they present their work at the research training symposium and poster session. In addition to conducting cutting-edge research with the School of Medicine’s physicians and scientists, students are able to develop long-term connections with faculty.
This past summer, 91 School of Medicine second-year students and two first-year students and 10 Meharry Medical College students participated in the SRP.
“The Washington University School of Medicine Summer Research Program offers WUSM students and Meharry medical students the opportunity to participate in research to enhance their medical education and the opportunity to collaborate with our world-renowned faculty on groundbreaking research,” said Koong-Nah Chung, PhD, associate dean for medical student research and director of the Office of Medical Student Research. “We are grateful for the support of the program from many, including the dean’s office, the provost’s office, the Clinical Research Training Center, the research faculty, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and private and foundation grants. The support also has enabled us to ensure the success of the annual research training symposium and poster session, which has grown immeasurably over the years.”
For more photos from the research training symposium and poster session, visit the Office of Medical Student Research website.
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