First Year Medical Student Summer Research Program

This summer forty one College of Medicine (COM) students from the class of 2009 are participating in research projects supported by the Dean of the College of Medicine and an American Heart Association Fellowship Grant obtained by the Dean's Office. For a period of six to eight weeks, students will work with COM faculty in a variety of specialty areas including Dermatology, Family Medicine, Infectious Diseases, Internal Medicine, Molecular Medicine, Neurosciences, Ophthalmology, Pathology and Cell Biology, Pediatrics, Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, Physical Therapy, Radiology, Surgery, and Environmental and Occupational Health. Fellowships for 38 students were funded through the Office of the Dean of the College of Medicine.

These fellowships were coordinated through the USF Health Office of Research. Each year interested students are encouraged to apply through the Research Office, and the Office works to match students with a faculty volunteer. Fellowships came with a $2,600 stipend for the approximately two month work period.

Additionally, three students who expressed an interest in cardiology received fellowships from the American Heart Association grant which covered three months of their research time. These students were matched with faculty mentors involved in cardiovascular related research. The 2006 AHA student fellows and their research faculty mentors are listed below:

Student: Blessy Mathew, Faculty Mentor: Dr. H. J. Brownlee
Department: Family Medicine
Title: "Assessing the Impact of Supplemental Coenzyme Q10 on HMG-CoA Inhibitor-induced Myalgias and Fatigue"


Student: Barbara Chalkey, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Duane Eichler
Department: Molecular Medicine
Title: "Impairment of Vascular Endothelial Function by Homocysteine"


Student: Lacee Laufenberg, Faculty Mentor: Dr. Joel Strom
Department: Internal Medicine
Title: "Triage and Treatment of Patients with Acute St-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarctions: A Systems Biomedical Engineering Approach"


At the end of the fellowship, each student submits a short paper about their experience. Many of these papers become poster presentations at the USF Health annual Research Day in the spring. For more information about these fellowships, contact the USF Health Office of Research, 813-974-5200.