Medical Student Research Forum
The Medical Student Research Forum was originally called the Frank Tyler Fall Medical Student Research Symposium and was named after Frank H. Tyler, M.D. , (January 5, 1916-September 7, 1994) one of the founding fathers of the four-year University of Utah School of Medicine and a truly distinguished physician-scientist. Dr. Tyler was the principal investigator on the first extramural research grant awarded by the National Institutes of Health. Funding for “The Study of Metabolic and Hereditary Disorders” began in 1946 and was renewed annually for 33 years.
In 2018, the Frank Tyler Fall Medical Student Research Symposium evolved to the Medical Student Research Forum which allows students to present research data and findings obtained during the summer. The forum also allows students to gain experience in the presentation and discussion of medical research. This change also provides an opportunity for students to learn about funded research opportunities that they can get involved in.
The University of Utah Summer Medical School Student Research Program
The University of Utah Summer Medical School Student Research Program originated in 1992 with the assistance of a Short-Term Training Grant from the National Institutes for Health (NIH). The goals of this program are to create and foster research opportunities for Medical Students.
The Medical Student Research Program (MSRP) has also provided apathway for many outstanding medical students to join the MD-PhD Program after their second year of medical school. These are students that knew they wanted to be trained as a physician, but after participating in the MSRP, realized they also wanted to develop their training as a scientist.
The Medical Student Research Program has mentored over 500 medicalstudents, some of whom have completed their residency training and returned to the University of Utah School of Medicine and mentored medical students.
Rural and Underserved Utah Training Experience & Regional Affairs (RUUTE)
The University of Utah RUUTE Program is focused on rural and underserved medical education. The mission of the RUUTE program is to ultimately improve medical education and training, health care access, and long-term socio- economic benefit for rural and underserved communities of Utah and the surrounding States of Idaho, Montana, & Wyoming by expanding interest, awareness, and placement of students and physicians. The RUUTE program has also aligned with the goals of the School of Medicine's Exceptional Learning Experience (ELE) to promote professionalism, community, and meaningful relationships. RUUTE's learning experiences for medical students include elective coursework, rural speaker series, k-12 outreach efforts, student interest groups, rural and underserved clerkship rotations, and funded research opportunities. Funded research opportunities are available to all UUSOM students, but oriented towards students who are from rural or underserved backgrounds, or projects that can potentially benefit rural and underserved communities.
Funding Support
The Medical Student Research Program has been supported by the sameNIH grant, Short-Term Training: Students in Health Professional Schools (NHLBI, PI’s Jerry Kaplan and Andrew Weyrich) since 1993. In addition, the program has been funded by two additional NIH funding sources during the past ten years, MSRP in Metabolism, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK, Simon Fisher))and Medical Student Research Program in Eye Health and Disease (NEI, Mary Elizabeth Hartnett).
RUUTE thanks the Utah State Legislator for their ongoing support of the RUUTE program and for participation of the RUUTE Summer Research Scholars. RUUTE would also like to thank members of the University of Utah leadership: President Taylor Randall, Dr. Michael Good, Dr. Wayne Samuelson and the UUSOM’s Dean’s Office, Jason Perry, and Natalie Tippets, for their support of the RUUTE program.
We would also like to thank all of the faculty sponsors for their contribution of time, education and training given to these students. It is hoped that these contributions will broaden the vision of research and its application to medicine for them. We would also like to thank all of the MD/PhD students who offered their time and mentorship to help support research projects. Please see the list of mentors at the end of the program. These programs are key to the development of the next generation of physician-scientists.
Medical Student Research Forum Participants
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