The Publicly Available Data Workshop, led by Dr. Danielle Fastring, Associate Dean of Research, and Dr. Kelsey Keel, Director of Student Research, is a competitive, 10-week virtual summer research experience offered to WCUCOM medical students following completion of the OMS-I year. Students in good academic standing apply in teams of four, with each team submitting one application and pitching one proposed research project for consideration. The publicly available datasets selected for use each summer are announced in the application flyer released in mid-February, along with detailed instructions for completing the application and developing the research project pitch.

Accepted teams receive structured faculty mentorship throughout the workshop as they move through the research process, including refining their research proposal and question, defining study variables, conducting statistical analyses, interpreting results, refining individual poster sections, and ultimately developing a professional research poster. Because the workshop is conducted virtually, students can participate regardless of where they spend their summer and may complete the experience alongside other summer opportunities.

At the conclusion of the workshop, teams are required to present their posters at the WCUCOM Summer Research Symposium, where they have the opportunity to showcase their research to WCU faculty and the incoming OMS-I class during orientation. Projects developed through the Publicly Available Data Workshop may also be continued beyond the summer. Students are encouraged to further develop their summer poster projects into manuscripts to be submitted for publication.

Directory of Medical Student Opportunities Maintained by Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

AAMC Clinical and Research Opportunities (includes international opportunities)

AAMC Public Health Pathways for Medical Students (public health training opportunities)

Fellowships & Summer Opportunities Identified by University of Illinois Chicago

Short-Term Opportunities Identified by UNC School of Medicine

Funding of summer fellowships is possible. To be eligible, a student must be offered an unfunded summer research opportunity at a prominent research institution. The idea is to defray costs enough to make it feasible for the student to take advantage of this opportunity. Click here for procedures and application form.

American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Summer Medical Student Fellowship

• The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) is pleased to announce the Summer Medical Student Fellowships in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, supported by the Break the Cycle Initiative of AACAP's Campaign for America’s Kids.

• The AACAP Summer Medical Student Fellowships offer a chance for medical students to explore a career in child and adolescent psychiatry, gain valuable work experience, and meet leaders in the child and adolescent psychiatry field. The fellowship opportunity provides award recipients:

• Students are expected to complete 12 consecutive weeks (60 workdays at 8 hours per day) of the fellowship during the summer following acceptance into the program. The amount of time an applicant proposes to spend on the fellowship training will be taken into account by the selection committee. If an applicant is unable to complete 12 weeks, he or she may propose a slightly shorter fellowship experience in the application. If approved, the stipend will be pro-rated to reflect the reduction in time spent completing the fellowship. [IMPORTANT: Fellowships proposed as less than eight weeks will NOT be considered.]

APA Summer Medical Student Program

• The APA's Summer Medical Student Program (SMSP) is designed to broaden medical students’ understanding of psychiatry and their career options and prepare future leaders to successfully enter the field of psychiatry.

• In SMSP, medical students will be exposed to various psychiatric subfields and receive mentorship from psychiatric residents who can assist them through experiential advice on academic and professional goal setting. Participants will also receive learning and development opportunities and networking opportunities.

Atrium Health Medical Student Summer Scholars Program (Clinical Surgery, Trauma, Research) 

• The Ross Student Research Internship is a 9-week long paid internship designed to expose first-year medical students, undergraduate and post-graduate students to clinical surgery, trauma and research. Clinical experience includes direct observation of: Floor rounds, ICU rounds, Acute trauma resuscitations, Surgery, ICU procedures, Resident teaching conferences

• Research experience includes: Lectures on research design, Lectures on biostatistics, Take training modules for the Institutional Review Board, Data collection, PowerPoint presentations required at completion of program summarizing their research, Co-authorship for all work presented or published.

Campagna Scholarship (Neurosurgery)

• A 10-Week Summer Research Scholarship available for United States medical students intending a career in neurological surgery.

• The Campagna Scholarship was endowed in 2006 by leading Oregon neurosurgeon Dr. Mario Campagna and his wife, Edith. The scholarship supports a 10-week summer semester of research under the supervision of a neurosurgical mentor at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and residence expenses in Portland, Oregon. Students in the first or second year of study at an accredited U.S. medical school are eligible to apply. 1-2 scholars will be selected annually.

FAER Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowship

• The Medical Student Anesthesia Research Fellowship (MSARF) Summer Program provides challenging and rewarding experiences in anesthesia research and offers a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in perioperative research, clinical shadowing, and mentorship.

• Medical students who participate in the summer anesthesia research fellowship can expect: Eight weeks of focused research related to anesthesiology; a dedicated mentor who will provide training in research techniques and scientific methods; valuable virtual content including journal clubs and online presentations throughout the summer; and the opportunity to make a scientific poster or oral presentation during the FAER MSARF Symposium held at the at the ASA's ANESTHESIOLOGY® annual meeting.

MD Anderson CATALYST Summer Training Programs (Oncology)

• CATALYST is an umbrella program comprised of 21 summer unique academic research programs at MD Anderson developed specifically for students interested in an advanced degree and/or a career in cancer research. During the 10-week summer program, MD Anderson gives aspiring scientists the opportunity to train with world-renowned faculty in a state-of-the-art research facility at the nation's top cancer hospital, located in the world's largest medical center.  

• More than 100 faculty members across dozens of specialties engage with our CATALYST programs so that each trainee can work alongside a faculty mentor to gain hands-on lab and /or clinical experience in: cancer prevention research; basic research; biomedical research; translational research; and clinical research.

Medical Student Training in Aging Research at Johns Hopkins Medicine

• The Johns Hopkins Division of Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology’s summer training program immerses medical students at the end of their first year in a focused experience in aging research, supplemented by research training and clinical experiences. 

• As a student in this eight-week summer program, based in Baltimore, Maryland, you will participate in research, clinical, and academic experiences at one of the best teaching hospitals in the country. You can choose a research interest from basic sciences, clinical research, population-based research, education, or health services research. You will be paired with a research mentor to complete a specific project.

• The summer experience includes a geriatric medicine and gerontology lecture series, epidemiology and biostatistics seminars, other research training, an ethnogeriatrics discussion series, and a variety of exciting clinical shadowing opportunities. Students typically present their summer research at the annual meeting of the American Geriatrics Society and many students work with their mentors to publish their research findings.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship

• This summer program provides students with the opportunity to engage in the distinctive scientific environment of Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK). Medical students, typically between their first and second years of study, participate in research projects under the guidance and mentorship of MSK faculty members. Throughout their research experience, students attend lectures and seminars conducted by leading cancer researchers and innovators in oncology care. This structure allows students to gain firsthand experience in the rigorous process of scientific inquiry within the framework of a premier academic cancer center, with a particular focus on precision medicine.

NIDDK Medical Student Research Program in Diabetes

• The Medical Student Research Program in Diabetes and Obesity, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases is a summer program that offers opportunities for medical students to conduct mentored research at one of 13 diabetes centers across the US. 

• Medical students conduct research under the direction of an established scientist in the areas of diabetes, hormone action, physiology, public health, islet cell biology or obesity at an institution with one of the NIDDK-funded research centers during the summer between the first and second year or second and third year of medical school.

NIH Clinical Center Summer Internship Program

• Facts About the Program: Approximately 40 students are selected each year; Paid internship; Student interns work with researchers and health professionals; Student interns participate in the NIH Summer Poster Day and lecturers presented by NIH investigators.

• Potential Research Areas: Bioethics; Research Informatics; Rehabilitation Medicine; Social Work; Nursing; Transfusion Medicine; Critical Care; Laboratory Medicine; Radiology and Imaging Sciences; Translational Biobehavioral and Health Disparities Branch; Pharmacy; Perioperative Medicine

NIH Summer Internship Program (SIP)

• This program is for college, graduate and professional students interested in exploring careers in research and healthcare. These are full-time research positions within one of the NIH Institutes and Centers (IC) in the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP). Research groups are located on all NIH campuses, including the main campus in Bethesda, MD.

• Summer interns work in a research group directed by a Principal Investigator (PI). We offer research opportunities in the biomedical, behavioral, and social sciences with opportunities to explore basic, translational, and clinical research. Students interested in biology, engineering, epidemiology, psychology, mathematics, chemistry, pharmaceutical sciences, nursing, physics, computer science, bioinformatics, and other health-related fields are invited to apply. Summer interns may not work in administrative offices or outside of the NIH IRP.

Radiation Oncology Summer Student Research Program

• The Department of Radiation Oncology at Thomas Jefferson University & Hospitals is offering the annual Summer Student Research Program in Radiation Oncology.

• This summer experience is designed to further students' interest in radiation oncology and consists of a research project, didactics and shadowing. During the summer, students are assigned a research mentor who develops a radiation oncology research project with them to be largely completed during their summer externship. There will also be a small discussion/seminar series for students, who will receive a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary view of radiation oncology and other oncology fields. Students will also have the opportunity to shadow radiation oncology faculty during this experience.

• Every fall, our department hosts a research symposium highlighting our department's success in research. Here, students will be able to highlight the summer research experience. Students are expected to return to Jefferson for the poster session, where posters are judged and awards are presented.

Strong Children's Research Center Summer Program (U Rochester) 

• The Center for Children's Health Research (CCHR) welcomes you to the website for the Strong Children’s Research Center (SCRC) Summer Training Program. We offer a competitive 10-week summer training program for students who are entering their junior or senior year of undergraduate college, completing their first year of medical school, recent graduates, and students taking a gap year.

• The goal of the program is to expose students to an academic pediatric environment to foster their interest and preparation for future careers in research, pediatrics, and academic medicine. For 35 years, we have paired students with mentors in clinical, basic, and translational research from a variety of pediatric disciplines. In addition to participating in an in-depth, mentored research project, students also attend classes on a variety of academic topics and actively participate in journal clubs on contemporary pediatric research topics.

• At the end of the summer, students present the results of their research projects at a poster session for the whole Department of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center. Many students become co-authors on manuscripts incorporating their research and create lasting relationships with their mentors. We encourage you to explore our website and apply for our program if you are considering a career in academic medicine, pediatrics, or clinical/basic/translational research.

USC Summer Oncology Fellowship Program (Children's Hospital of LA) 

• Our NIH-supported Summer Oncology Research Fellowship (SORF) Program is designed for medical students in the summer between their first and second year who are considering a biomedical career that involves cancer research. A small number of SORFites participate during summer vacations and later while in medical school. This research fellowship is held at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Keck School of Medicine- Opens in a new window.

• SORF immerses medical students in cutting-edge research experiences within a team science framework in oncology and related fields. Students are matched with mentoring teams according to interests and research experience. Research projects are in pediatric, adolescent, or adult oncology, clinical, translational, or laboratory research, and/or new frontiers in bioinformatics, biomedical engineering, precision medicine, population-based research, survivorship, and other oncology-related fields.

• Students work on their research projects under experienced faculty mentors, visit centers of emerging sciences, participate in social activities, interact with faculty, trainees, and cancer survivors, and engage in a dynamic interactive curriculum on selected topics in oncology, career development, research skills, research communication, and responsible research conduct. Students further enhance their skills through scientific reports, posters, and oral presentations.

Vanderbilt Diabetes Research and Training Center

• The Vanderbilt Medical Student Research Training Program (SRTP) is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and allows medical students to conduct research under the direction of an established scientist in the areas of diabetes, obesity, kidney disease or digestive disease at Vanderbilt during the summer between the first and second or second and third years of medical school.

ASH Minority Medical Student Award Program

• The ASH Hematology Inclusion Pathway (HIP), the successor program to the ASH Minority Recruitment Initiative (MRI), offers a comprehensive 13-year longitudinal career pathway of awards that strives to ensure that hematology reflects and serves the world we live in– from medical students to mid-career professionals.

• The HIP Initiative aligns with ASH’s commitment to excellence through expansion and inclusion and reflects an evolving understanding of the hematology community.

• With HIP, we’re continuing to expand the availability of hematologic care while promoting the highest standards of excellence in hematology research, training, and practice.

Chicago Minority Medical Student Emergency Medicine

Mass General Summer Research Trainee Program

Johns Hopkins CUPID Summer Translational Oncology Program

Jeanne Spurlock Research Fellowship (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

If a research opportunity is not possible for you for some reason (time constraints, family responsibilities, etc.) you could consider shorter experiences that still enhance your medical education. Medical mission trips are an example of such new, but short, experiences. Another example is the addiction medicine program below.

Scaife Medical Student Fellowship in Substance Use Disorders (3-week program)

SAMHSA Summer Medical Student Program (psychiatry.org)

Multiple Sclerosis Medical Student Mentorship Program

The Medical Research Scholars Program is a year-long research immersion program at NIH for future clinician-scientists that advances health by inspiring careers in biomedical research. By engaging students in basic, clinical, or translational research investigations, offering a curriculum rich in didactics and professional development, and featuring a robust mentorship and advising program, MRSP prepares its Scholars to become tomorrow's leaders in medicine and biomedical research.