Program Dates 2018:
June 18, 2018 - August 3, 2018
Deadline: February 1, 2018
Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program Brochure
It is our good fortune to have in the United States the best of medical facilities and constant state of the art research, providing ongoing advancement of knowledge and development of new treatment approaches. Yet, we face the challenge of addressing major gaps in research, health care, preventive measures, health policy, and bridging cultural barriers for a large segment of our population who are from traditionally underserved groups. The Institute of Medicine issued a report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, highlighting the severity of disparities in health care among racial and ethnic minorities. Among its specific recommendations is increasing the number of minorities represented in the health professions. Addressing these disparities is one of the highest priorities in U.S. medicine.
Of critical importance in addressing such disparities is training a racially and ethnically diverse physician work force. Linnie M. Golightly, M.D., Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion states: "At WCM we strive to ensure an inclusive community where our many distinct voices can be expressed and heard, a community in which all can thrive in the pursuit of educational, clinical and scientific medical excellence. We, therefore, seek students from a wide range of backgrounds that will enrich our community and ultimately the broader world of physicians and scientist to which we belong." The presence of diversity among medical students becomes a critical mutual education process for all medical students, faculty, and administrators. Minority students become the physicians who we need to assist the field of medicine in addressing our major disparities in health care. Our Medical College and the Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program has been and remains an essential part of that effort.
Identifying potential medical students who have a major interest in the medical problems of the underserved is critical. Every effort must be made to include among our medical student body students who have had life experience with a range of issues affecting diverse groups, including minorities and the underserved, who have demonstrated direct interest in such issues via activity with various student organizations that target minority issues, and have the career ambition to address the problems of the medically underserved.
The Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program is designed to give 25 premedical students deeper insights into the field of medicine, including issues that greatly affect the health of traditionally underserved groups. Through the experiences of laboratory or clinical research, the student learns how one pursues a specific research problem under the supervision of a faculty member, thus providing an early education into basic research techniques that could be applicable to any area of medicine. A lecture series explores topics in cardiovascular physiology, exposing the students to basic science concepts that are relevant to a more specific understanding of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, both of which are major problems in minority communities. The summer fellows attend a series of talks by minority physicians about various medical specialties, addressing issues of concern in these physician's daily work plus views of the bigger picture in health care to minority communities. Shadowing physicians provide further exposure to the clinical facets of medicine. Students in the summer program receive information on the medical school admissions process, and counseling on financial planning for medical school and how to examine the financial aid package.
The Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program is directed by Elizabeth A. Wilson-Anstey, Ed.D., M.A., Assistant Dean of Diversity and Student Life. Since 1976, Dr. Wilson-Anstey has helped develop and run the summer research program. She is an active member of the Admissions Committee.
Students eligible for the program:
- must be at least in their junior year of college
- must be declared premed students who have completed two semesters of biology, general chemistry, organic chemistry, and one semester of physics. Preference is given to students with a grade point average of B or above
- must have a demonstrated commitment to working on issues with underserved populations within the USA
- must be from one or more of the following groups that are underrepresented in medicine
- Individuals from racial and ethnic groups shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research: Blacks or African Americans, Hispanics or Latinos, American Indians or Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders
- Individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds
- Individuals with disabilities (those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities)
- must be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident
Students receive a $140.00 a week cost-of-living allowance and are housed rent-free in the dormitory for medical students, but are required to pay for their meals and other living expenses. Travel expenses are paid for students that live some distance from New York.
Last summer's fellows came from a wide range of institutions:
Amherst College
Boston University
Bowdoin College
Brandeis University
Brooklyn College, City University of New York
Colorado College
Cornell University
Dartmouth College
Fordham University
Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania
New York University
Queens College, City University of New York
Southern Illinois University, Carbondale
Spelman College
State University of New York at Oneonta
Tufts University
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Santa Cruz
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
University of Rochester
How to Apply
- Create an account here.
- Select Summer 2018 in the Program Plans pop-up window.
- Select the Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program to begin the application process.
- Before submitting materials in the other tabs, go to the My Application tab and select Program Materials for the complete instructions and to answer the supplemental questions.
Questions?
Elizabeth A. Wilson-Anstey, Ed.D, M.A.
Assistant Dean of Diversity and Student Life
Director, Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program
Weill Cornell Medicine
445 East 69th Street, Room 110
New York, NY 10021
212-746-1057
tsrf@med.cornell.edu