Prestigious programs

Casey Cable, Class of 2011, has been admitted to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program. She’ll go next year, all expenses paid. The program, also known as the Cloister Program, was established in 1985 to let outstanding students receive research training at NIH in Bethesda, Md. Students in good standing at U.S. medical, dental and veterinary schools are eligible to apply. Research Scholars spend nine months to a year on the NIH campus, conducting basic, translational or applied biomedical research under the direct mentorship of senior NIH research scientists. For the current year, there were 171 applicants from 83 schools. In the end, 42 were accepted from 31 schools. Learn more about the program.

Also, the application of Zarna Dahya, Class of 2011, to the MSTAR program has been accepted. This program (Medical Student Training in Aging Research) is administered by the American Federation for Aging Research and the National Institute on Aging. It provides medical students with experience in aging-related research and geriatrics, under the mentorship of experts in the field. Thus it introduces them to research and academic experiences they might not otherwise have during medical school. This introduction has led many physicians-in-training to pursue academic careers in aging, ranging from basic science to clinical research to health-services research. Dahya will be training at the University of Michigan Medical School. She is thought to be the first FSU College of Medicine student to receive this award. Find out more about MSTAR.

Match Day

Surrounded by balloons, air horns and “bon voyage” props, the Class of 2009 (including Mikelson MomPremier, above) all discovered March 19 where they’ll enter residency training this summer. All 73 class members found a match on Match Day. Thirty-three of them will be in primary-care specialties, including family medicine, pediatrics, internal medicine and obstetrics/gynecology. Others matched in anesthesiology, dermatology, emergency medicine, neurology, ophthalmology, pathology, psychiatry, radiology, general surgery, orthopedic surgery and urology. “The quality of the programs to which our graduating students have matched is exceptional, validating the medical education they have received from a faculty that includes more than 1,500 of the best physicians in the state of Florida,” said Dr. John Fogarty, dean of the College of Medicine. View the complete list of matches.

Organization of the Year

FSUCares has been receiving lots of congratulations, and no wonder: It was named Graduate Student Organization of the Year in April at Leadership Awards Night in the Oglesby Union Ballroom. Here’s what the audience heard that night: “The recipient for Graduate Student Organization of the Year exists to support health services, including medical care, counseling and education to those who would not otherwise have access to care. Seven years after its beginning, this organization has become synonymous with the mission of the College of Medicine in the Tallahassee community, as well as in other Florida cities. Coordinating events and programs such as Project Prevent, Neighborhood Health Services, Health Fairs for rural populations in Leon, Gadsden, Jefferson and Madison counties, Homeless Service Day, International Medical Outreach and many others, this organization is tireless in its efforts to serve.” Kelly McDowell, assistant director of FSU student activities, said afterward, “Their service to others, I think, is what really set them apart in the minds of our Selection Committee Members.” FSUCares’ president is Josh Counihan (pictured here), and its coordinators are Diana Mauldin, Maegan McCarthy, Kristina Seeger , Nitesh Patel, Will Fields, Jessica Malmad, Maria Diaz, Tara Chumbris, Sara Park, Ricky Sequeira and Aaron Hilton. Among the congratulatory messages was this from Rob Glueckauf, Ph.D., professor of medical humanities and social sciences: “FSUCares not only benefits our students and the constituents they serve, but also the faculty who have participated in its various projects. My life has been enriched by missions to Panama and Mexico in which I participated over the past 5 years. Felicitaciones!” Find out more about FSUCares.

Fellowships

Elizabeth Anderson, Jesse Basford, David Castillo, Robert Castro, Jessica Gondela, Alexander Kennon, Amol Purandare, Jordan Rogers, Coley Sheriff, Sareh Shoraka, Aaron Snyder and Thuyduong Vo, all from the Class of 2012, have received $2,500 College of Medicine Summer Research Fellowships. Next February, during the Research Fair, you’ll get to read the posters explaining their projects.

Publications

Second-year student Nihar Ganju co-wrote an article in the April 2009 TechNet magazine on “How Digital Healthcare Can Help the Environment, Reduce Costs, and Improve Patient Services.” Go to the article.