PORTLAND, Ore. - Oregon Health & Science University’s Eric Muñoz, a second-year medical student, is one of 111 medical and dental students to have the privilege of participating in one of two mentored research programs designed to encourage dentists and physicians to make research an integral part of their careers. The programs, funded and administered through a $4 million grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, aim to encourage future dentists and physicians to make research an integral part of their careers.
Muñoz and 41 other students will immerse themselves in the HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program for one year on the National Institutes of Health campus in Bethesda, Md., conducting a diverse range of research, including work in immunology, neuroscience, cell and molecular biology, developmental biology, and genetics.
"OHSU will certainly transform me into an excellent clinician, and I look forward to developing my identity as a scientist," said Muñoz.
Muñoz, 23, from South Pasadena, Calif., will be pursing neuroscience research.
"By incorporating basic research into their careers, future physician-scientists like Eric will know first hand how medical research can best serve patients and where new therapies and innovations are most needed," said Mark Richardson, M.D., M.B.A., dean, OHSU School of Medicine.
Sixty-nine other students will take part in research through HHMI's Research Training Fellowships for Medical Students (Medical Fellows) Program, which supports a year of full-time research at an institution of the fellow's choosing.
Some 336 students from 96 different medical and dental schools applied for these two programs. For a full list of 2007 fellows and scholars, visit: http://www.hhmi.org/press.
Contact: Tamara Hargens, 503 494-8231; hargenst@ohsu.edu
