June 22, 2010 – (BRONX, NY) – Several medical students at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have earned coveted fellowships and prestigious awards for the 2010-2011 academic year. From Boston to San Digeo to New Dehli, Einstein students will span the globe to enter research programs focusing on a range of subjects, including public health, neuro-oncology and infectious diseases. Placements include fellowships with the Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars & Fellows Program, Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Research Training Fellowships for Medical Students Program, HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program, and Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program. In addition to these fellowships, Einstein students also won placement in the Medical Student Training in Aging (MSTAR) summer program.
"While Einstein students and graduates have a tremendous reputation and always do well with awards and fellowships, 2010 has been a banner year," said Stephen Baum, senior associate dean for students. "We're proud of all our students and are pleased so many have chosen to conduct research during their medical training."
The fellowships and students selected include:
Fogarty International Clinical Research Scholars & Fellows Program
The National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center through the FICRS Support Center at Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University offers a one-year, international clinical research fellowship in global health. Thirty-eight medical students nationwide were selected in 2010 to participate at a foreign site.
Eli Kamara – Mr. Kamara will train at the Public Health Foundation of India, located in New Delhi, India. His mentor will be K.M. Venkat Narayan, M.D., M.Sc., M.B.A., Hubert Professor of Global Health & Epidemiology at Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health.
Nathaniel Robbins – Mr. Robbins will travel to Thailand to conduct research at the Chiang Mai University under the auspices of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Chris Beyrer, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health and Human Rights, will act as his mentor. He will also be mentored by Vinayaka Prasad, Ph.D., professor of microbiology & immunology at Einstein.
HHMI Research Training Opportunities
HHMI supports two programs that give medical and veterinary school students a chance to spend a year doing hands-on research.
Elisa Aquilanti – Ms. Aquilanti is one of 74 students selected from 26 medical schools and two veterinary schools in 2010 as part of HHMI's Medical Research Fellowship Program. Focusing on the field of neuro-oncology, Ms. Aquilanti's fellowship will take place at Harvard Medical School, working with Ronald DePinho, M.D., professor of medicine and genetics at Harvard Medical School and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. DePinho is also an Einstein alumnus (class of 1981) and a former member of its faculty.
Jacqueline Herold – Ms. Herold has been accepted into the HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program. She is one of 42 students selected in 2010 who will work in one of the many laboratories on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. (Students select their preceptor and research project after they are accepted into the program.)
Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship
The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation provides support for one year of full-time clinical research training. Medical students conduct their fellowship at one of 12 hosting medical schools in the U.S.
Maria Fan – Ms. Fan will be working with Sharon Hillier, Ph.D., director of reproductive infectious diseases and immunology at the University of Pittsburgh, on HIV microbicides.
Olga Yereschina – Ms. Yereschina will stay in New York City, working at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons's Herbert Irving Pavilion with James McKiernan, M.D., director of urologic oncology.
MSTAR Program
Given to medical students early in their training, the MSTAR program provides a summer mentorship opportunity in aging-related research and geriatrics. It is administered by the American Federation for Aging Research and the National Institute on Aging. Their mentors and the specifics of their studies will be determined at a later date.
Lauren Malaspina – Ms. Malaspina will be conducting research at the University of California at San Diego.
Isaac Solaimanzadeh – Mr. Solaimanzadeh will spend his research year at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Robert White – Mr. White will remain at Einstein for his research year.
About Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University
Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2009-2010 academic year, Einstein is home to 722 M.D. students, 243 Ph.D. students, 128 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 350 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has 2,775 fulltime faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2009, Einstein received more than $155 million in support from the NIH. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in diabetes, cancer, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Through its extensive affiliation network involving five medical centers in the Bronx, Manhattan and Long Island – which includes Montefiore Medical Center, The University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for Einstein – the College of Medicine runs one of the largest post-graduate medical training programs in the United States, offering approximately 150 residency programs to more than 2,500 physicians in training. For more information, please visit www.einstein.yu.edu