A Summer of Discovery: The Miller School’s U-SOAR Program
Thirty-three members of the Class of 2028 dedicated eight weeks to advanced scientific projects that contribute to their Capstone work.
This summer, many first-year medical students in the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine’s Class of 2028 engaged in hands-on research. The NextGenMD curriculum emphasizes scholarly and research work. Most students graduate with a scholarly article already published or in the publishing pipeline, and the summer between the first and second year of medical school is the only time that can be dedicated full-time to research.
Thirty-three members of the Class of 2028 were selected through a competitive process to receive the U Summer of Advanced Research (U-SOAR) scholarship, dedicating eight weeks to advanced scientific projects that contribute to their Capstone work.
They recently showcased the outcomes of their research at the U-SOAR Poster Symposium.
“The symposium is the culmination of the U-SOAR scholarship program, established by the Office of the Executive Dean for Research,” said Peter Buchwald, Ph.D., professor of molecular and cellular pharmacology and director of the U-SOAR program. “Our scholarships support high-quality summer research for first-year NextGenMD medical students, and the poster symposium showcases the results of their work.”
“I enjoyed this summer’s U-SOAR program, as it was a great way to get involved with basic science research while receiving funding for my work,” said Dylan Huynh, who was awarded second place by his peers at the symposium. “My project examined a biomarker in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and its effect on B-cell biology and lymphomagenesis in an immunocompetent mouse model. I pursued oncology research because it has greatly impacted my family, and I’m interested in a career in the field.”
Record Funding and Submissions
To qualify, students need to submit biosketch similar those solicited by the National Institutes of Health and a one-page proposal of their project overseen by a faculty mentor. A five-member committee scores proposals. The top 30 are selected for the program.
This year’s program set a new record for funding and submissions. Support from Henri R. Ford, M.D., M.H.A., dean and chief academic officer of the Miller School, led to an increased stipend of $4,000 per student. With involvement from Latha Chandran, M.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., executive dean for education and policy and the Bernard J. Fogel Chair in Medical Education at the Miller School, a donor gave $12,000 to U-SOAR. That funded three more scholarships, for a total of 33 this year.
“These efforts contributed considerably to the increasing prestige and competitiveness of U-SOAR, together with the growing importance of having research experience as a consideration for residency applications,” Dr. Buchwald said. “Because of this, we had a more competitive cycle than in previous years.”
Enriching Research Experience
Projects varied across multiple disciplines, from work with pediatric traumatic brain injury to wound healing and tissue tumors.
“This opportunity allows students to immerse themselves more deeply in biomedical science projects as they strengthen their research and scholarly skills and enhance their competitiveness for residency applications,” Dr. Buchwald said. “Research experience is becoming an increasingly important differentiator for residency program applications, especially in the more competitive specialties.”
There was no official judging, but peer-choice awards were handed out based on votes collected from all presenters. This year’s winners are:
• First place: David H. Cohen (mentored by Adrien Eshraghi, M.D., M.Sc., FACS, professor of otolaryngology, neurosurgery, pediatrics and biomedical engineering, and Rahul Mittal, Ph.D., associate professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism)
• Second place: Dylan Huynh (mentored by Jonathan H. Schatz, M.D., professor in the Division of Hematology)
• Third place: Alec D. Nieth (mentored by Lina Shehadeh, Ph.D., professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine)
“Being selected as first place was both humbling and rewarding,” Cohen said. “My work focused on cochlear implantation in a rat model. Studying a novel, drug-eluting cochlear implant electrode, we evaluated the potential of hearing preservation through analyzing sensory cell preservation, synaptic integrity and neurite architecture using immunohistochemistry. Additionally, we assessed the drug’s potential to enhance cellular proliferation and regenerative processes.”
Tags: Department of Medical Education, Dr. Peter Buchwald, medical education, medical students, NextGenMD, student research