Participating 2025 Medical Student Summer Research Pathways (MSSRPs) are listed below; for additional program information, click on the link(s) provided.
Apply for these programs using a 'Single Application'
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine* offers students the opportunity to participate in various clinical and research learning activities.
Department of Surgery Summer Research Program/STREAMS (NIH T35 Funded)* offers basic science, translational, outcomes, and education research opportunities for medical students in numerous sub-specialties of surgery. You can find more information at the Department of Surgery. Potential Mentors and Projects for Surgery Summer Research.
Diabetes Research Center Summer Research Fellowship* awards up to 6 students for the minimum 8 weeks of active research; however, for each additional week, the student will receive another $450 for a maximum of 12 weeks between June and August each year. The training period will include a full-time summer hands-on research laboratory experience and a seminar program. In addition, with the chosen mentor, each student will be expected to prepare and submit an abstract of their work and subsequently present a poster and/or oral presentation for the UAB Dale J. Benos Medical Student Research Day. Additional resources can be found at the Diabetes website.
ENhancing Research In Cancer-related Health professions (ENRICH) is an NCI R25 funded 10-week program (Weeks 1 and 10 are “remote”) for 30 medical, dental, and master-level graduate students. Faculty and staff affiliated with the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center will post mentored projects through their labs, and students whose interests align with the research will be welcome to interview with their chosen faculty, and it is a “mutual-match” process. Additional information is available at the ENRICH website.
Koopman Medical Student Research Excellence Award (Medicine)* will be given annually to three outstanding medical students in the Department of Medicine (DOM). Medical students interested in medical or health-related research are encouraged to apply for this eight-week summer internship program with a research mentor with a primary or secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine. Awardees will be provided with a $1,500 travel allowance and $500 to the mentor lab in addition to the stipend of $4,000 throughout the 8-week summer training. The project will be conducted during the summer between the MS1 and MS2 years. You can find more information at the Koopman website.
O’Brien Center for Research in Kidney-Related Diseases Fellowship* of the UAB-UCSD O'Brien Center is intended to catalyze collaborative interactions among Center members; enhance the conceptual, technical, and methodological expertise of UAB-UCSD investigators; foster the development of new, innovative projects that emphasize potential translation to clinical studies; and facilitate the training of the next generation of investigators interested in kidney-related research. Additional information is available on the O'Brien website.
The UAB Precision Medicine Institute SUmmer in PREcision MEdicine (SUPREME) program, funded by the UAHSF General Endowment Fund, is an immersive 8-week experience for three first-year medical students designed to provide training through participation in PMI’s established case-studies process focused on therapeutic discovery for patients with rare genetic disorders. Our program provides exposure and training in how traditional clinical genetic practices can be combined with bioinformatics, preclinical studies using patient-specific animal models, and artificial intelligence tools to enhance patient care. Trainees will be assigned their own PMI cases to develop hypotheses about the pathophysiological disease mechanism and propose therapeutic strategies to be shared with the patient’s physician. Trainees will receive a $4,000 stipend, as well as travel support. Contact Aleksandra Foksinska (afoksin@uab.edu) with any questions.
Research and Clinical Experience in Pathology (RACE4Path) represents an innovative and unique medical education opportunity focused on growing the pipeline of UAB Heersink SOM MS1 students into Pathology as physician-scientists. This program provides an immersive vertical experience in basic and clinical research as well as early exposure to the clinical career of a Pathologist. Rising MS2 medical students will participate in an 8-week summer immersion, which will include a translational project in pathology. Applicants will be selected from the UAB SOM Medical Student Summer Research Programs (MSSRP) application submission portal. Please contact Dr. Brandi McCleskey at bmccleskey@uabmc.edu
Short Term Training in Health Professional Schools * is a (NIH T35) (SRTP) funded 8-week program that provides a stipend and hands-on opportunities for UAB MS1 medical students who are interested in biomedical research to get experience in a research laboratory or become involved in a clinical/translational research project. Your selection of a faculty mentor is not limited; however, for funding from the T35 mechanism, you will have a much better chance of being funded if you choose faculty from https://scholars.uab.edu/. SRTP can only fund one student/mentor per laboratory/summer.
Russell Cunningham Memorial Research Program (Pediatrics)* is designed to introduce students to pediatrics and pediatric research. It provides two selected students with an 8-week fellowship that includes an opportunity to attend a variety of Pediatric Clinics and/or hospital rounds and conferences. Contact Dr. Cassi Smola for questions. Application Program Information
Eligibility Requirements
Students need to be MS1s in good standing at the time of submission and acceptance to an MSSRP. Students in a combined MD-PhD program are not eligible for support through these funding mechanisms. Students holding PhD or research-based MS degrees in the health sciences or those already matriculated in formal programs leading to a PhD or research-based MS degree are not necessarily disqualified. Please contact Randy L Seay (rseay@uab.edu or 934-4092) with any questions.
Applicants must be citizens of the United States or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residency.
Compensation and Student Responsibilities
Trainees must devote full-time participation to the project. Current NIH training grant stipends are set at the current NIH predoctoral stipend level; this amount is then prorated depending on the selected appointment period and funding cycles. A minimum of 8 weeks of full-time research is required for all students.
Please note: no course credit can be accrued while you are being paid from the training grant.
All student participants in the Medical Student Summer Research Pathways are strongly encouraged to present the results of their research projects at a local, national, or international scientific meeting. Sponsored medical students are required to present their poster at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Medical Student Research Day (MSRD) Competition held in the Fall.
Summer training should be planned with the goal that the results of the student's work will eventually be submitted for publication with the student listed as a co-author. The presentation and publication of student research results is an essential aspect of the summer training experience.
Medical Student Summer Research Pathway
Participating 2025 Medical Student Summer Research Pathways (MSSRPs) are listed below; for additional program information, click on the link(s) provided.
Apply for these programs using a 'Single Application'
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine* offers students the opportunity to participate in various clinical and research learning activities.
Department of Surgery Summer Research Program/STREAMS (NIH T35 Funded)* offers basic science, translational, outcomes, and education research opportunities for medical students in numerous sub-specialties of surgery. You can find more information at the Department of Surgery. Potential Mentors and Projects for Surgery Summer Research.
Diabetes Research Center Summer Research Fellowship* awards up to 6 students for the minimum 8 weeks of active research; however, for each additional week, the student will receive another $450 for a maximum of 12 weeks between June and August each year. The training period will include a full-time summer hands-on research laboratory experience and a seminar program. In addition, with the chosen mentor, each student will be expected to prepare and submit an abstract of their work and subsequently present a poster and/or oral presentation for the UAB Dale J. Benos Medical Student Research Day. Additional resources can be found at the Diabetes website.
ENhancing Research In Cancer-related Health professions (ENRICH) is an NCI R25 funded 10-week program (Weeks 1 and 10 are “remote”) for 30 medical, dental, and master-level graduate students. Faculty and staff affiliated with the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center will post mentored projects through their labs, and students whose interests align with the research will be welcome to interview with their chosen faculty, and it is a “mutual-match” process. Additional information is available at the ENRICH website.
Koopman Medical Student Research Excellence Award (Medicine)* will be given annually to three outstanding medical students in the Department of Medicine (DOM). Medical students interested in medical or health-related research are encouraged to apply for this eight-week summer internship program with a research mentor with a primary or secondary appointment in the Department of Medicine. Awardees will be provided with a $1,500 travel allowance and $500 to the mentor lab in addition to the stipend of $4,000 throughout the 8-week summer training. The project will be conducted during the summer between the MS1 and MS2 years. You can find more information at the Koopman website.
O’Brien Center for Research in Kidney-Related Diseases Fellowship* of the UAB-UCSD O'Brien Center is intended to catalyze collaborative interactions among Center members; enhance the conceptual, technical, and methodological expertise of UAB-UCSD investigators; foster the development of new, innovative projects that emphasize potential translation to clinical studies; and facilitate the training of the next generation of investigators interested in kidney-related research. Additional information is available on the O'Brien website.
The UAB Precision Medicine Institute SUmmer in PREcision MEdicine (SUPREME) program, funded by the UAHSF General Endowment Fund, is an immersive 8-week experience for three first-year medical students designed to provide training through participation in PMI’s established case-studies process focused on therapeutic discovery for patients with rare genetic disorders. Our program provides exposure and training in how traditional clinical genetic practices can be combined with bioinformatics, preclinical studies using patient-specific animal models, and artificial intelligence tools to enhance patient care. Trainees will be assigned their own PMI cases to develop hypotheses about the pathophysiological disease mechanism and propose therapeutic strategies to be shared with the patient’s physician. Trainees will receive a $4,000 stipend, as well as travel support. Contact Aleksandra Foksinska (afoksin@uab.edu) with any questions.
Research and Clinical Experience in Pathology (RACE4Path) represents an innovative and unique medical education opportunity focused on growing the pipeline of UAB Heersink SOM MS1 students into Pathology as physician-scientists. This program provides an immersive vertical experience in basic and clinical research as well as early exposure to the clinical career of a Pathologist. Rising MS2 medical students will participate in an 8-week summer immersion, which will include a translational project in pathology. Applicants will be selected from the UAB SOM Medical Student Summer Research Programs (MSSRP) application submission portal. Please contact Dr. Brandi McCleskey at bmccleskey@uabmc.edu
Short Term Training in Health Professional Schools * is a (NIH T35) (SRTP) funded 8-week program that provides a stipend and hands-on opportunities for UAB MS1 medical students who are interested in biomedical research to get experience in a research laboratory or become involved in a clinical/translational research project. Your selection of a faculty mentor is not limited; however, for funding from the T35 mechanism, you will have a much better chance of being funded if you choose faculty from https://scholars.uab.edu/. SRTP can only fund one student/mentor per laboratory/summer.
Russell Cunningham Memorial Research Program (Pediatrics)* is designed to introduce students to pediatrics and pediatric research. It provides two selected students with an 8-week fellowship that includes an opportunity to attend a variety of Pediatric Clinics and/or hospital rounds and conferences. Contact Dr. Cassi Smola for questions. Application Program Information
Eligibility Requirements
Students need to be MS1s in good standing at the time of submission and acceptance to an MSSRP. Students in a combined MD-PhD program are not eligible for support through these funding mechanisms. Students holding PhD or research-based MS degrees in the health sciences or those already matriculated in formal programs leading to a PhD or research-based MS degree are not necessarily disqualified. Please contact Randy L Seay (rseay@uab.edu or 934-4092) with any questions.
Applicants must be citizens of the United States or must have been lawfully admitted for permanent residency.
Compensation and Student Responsibilities
Trainees must devote full-time participation to the project. Current NIH training grant stipends are set at the current NIH predoctoral stipend level; this amount is then prorated depending on the selected appointment period and funding cycles. A minimum of 8 weeks of full-time research is required for all students.
Please note: no course credit can be accrued while you are being paid from the training grant.
All student participants in the Medical Student Summer Research Pathways are strongly encouraged to present the results of their research projects at a local, national, or international scientific meeting. Sponsored medical students are required to present their poster at the UAB Heersink School of Medicine Medical Student Research Day (MSRD) Competition held in the Fall.
Summer training should be planned with the goal that the results of the student's work will eventually be submitted for publication with the student listed as a co-author. The presentation and publication of student research results is an essential aspect of the summer training experience.