Medical students at UW-Madison have an option of participating in the Shapiro Summer Research Program, designed for students interested in medical research who are not pursuing a PhD degree. In 2017, a total of 113 students participated, 28 of whom were mentored by faculty members in the Department of Medicine.

All students participating in the program presented their research at the 16th Annual Medical Student Research Forum on November 20, 2017. UW School of Medicine and Public Health faculty facilitators and student evaluators used a 10-item rubric to assess students' presentation skills, knowledge base, and critical thinking.

Based on these presentations, two students mentored by Department of Medicine faculty members were subsequently selected for a 2017 Shapiro Excellence in Student Research Award.

Soibhan Kelley (pictured at right), mentored by Ann Misch, MD, assistant professor (CHS), Infectious Disease, was honored for her project entitled "Early bacteremia after solid organ transplantation is associated with lower 10-year survival."

Nnenna Ezeh (not pictured), mentored by Christie Bartels, MD, MS, assistant professor, Rheumatology, was honored for her project entitled "Examining relationships between smoking, poverty and race in systemic lupus erythematosus."

Resources:

• "Shapiro Summer Research Program shapes the future of medical discovery," Department of Medicine, July 13, 2017

Photo caption: During a roundtable discussion, Dr. Nasia Safdar (seated at right), vice chair for research in the Department of Medicine, talks with students about their projects. Natanya Russek (lower right), Allison Weisnicht (lower left), and Xavier Schwartz (upper left) talked about their findings, progress, and challenges during the summer-long program. Photo credit: Clint Thayer/Department of Medicine