The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected University of Michigan medical student Uchenna Okoro as one of 42 students nationwide to form its sixth class of the Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP).
The MRSP is a yearlong enrichment program that provides mentored training to creative, research-oriented medical, dental, and veterinary students at the intramural campus of the NIH in Bethesda, Md. The residential program enables scholars to conduct basic, clinical, or translational research in areas that match their personal interests and research goals. The mentored research training experience forms the core of the program and allows these future clinician-scientists and medical researchers to carry out research across the full spectrum of science in the interest of improving public health. Additionally, over the course of the academic year, MRSP scholars participate in courses, journal club seminars, a structured lecture series, and clinical teaching rounds. They also present their research to the NIH community and at domestic professional conferences.
Each scholar is assigned a tutor/advisor, who provides guidance in defining a well-articulated career development plan and in selecting a dedicated NIH research mentor. Mentors are fulltime NIH investigators with established basic, clinical or translational research programs.
Okoro, a rising M4 student, will begin his MRSP fellowship later this summer.
“This year-long research enrichment program is the starting point for a successful research-oriented career. These 42 scholars represent some of this country’s most promising future biomedical researchers and academic leaders,” said Frederick P. Ognibene, M.D., director of the Office of Clinical Research Training and Medical Education, NIH Clinical Center.
The MRSP is co-sponsored by the NIH and other partners via contributions to the Foundation for the NIH.