Medical research is vital part of the mission of the Quillen College of Medicine and to the education of our students. Through exposure to and engagement in our research programs, students develop critical thinking skills, improve ability to communicate scientific information, build self-confidence, and learn to question “medical dogma”.
Faculty are invited to participate as mentors. Research projects can be either basic science or population health/clinical research. They should be designed so that the student can accomplish a significant amount of research in a six week summer period before starting the second year of medical school. The program pays all stipend costs for the students. The mentor is responsible for all other project costs including poster printing services.
2024 Program Information
- Program dates for 2024 will run from May 27 to July 15.
- Start and end dates will be up to mentor/student and should be discussed during interviews. There is 6 weeks of mandatory research, but students can spend more time in the program if they want.
- Faculty mentors must submit abstract proposals by Dec 8, 2023.
Program Summary
- Six week summer research rotation in basic science or population health/clinical research laboratory.
- Summer research fellowships runs from about the end of May to the middle of July.
- First year medical students apply to the program and interview with potential mentors in January and February.
- After interviews, faculty and students submit rankings and are matched by the Director and Assistant Director of the Quillen Medical Student Summer Research Program.
- Students present their findings via poster presentations at the Medical Student Research Forum (September or October).
IMPORTANT: Please wait until the official interview period (January/February) before meeting with students about this program. If you have already arranged for an M1 student to join your lab as part of this program, please contact Dr. Aaron Polichnowski at polichnowski@etsu.eduso we do not send your abstract to the rest of the class.
Faculty Role
- Work with students prior to the start of the program to complete necessary trainings and gain all approvals.
- Work with the students to develop a set of objectives related to the project.
- Communication is critical so it is important to set aside routinely scheduled time to interact with the students.