Student Participates in NIH Research Program

Student Participates in NIH Research Program

OU College of Medicine student Annah Baykal was selected as one of 50 students nationwide to participate in the 2019- 2020 National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program.

The yearlong research training program allows medical, dental and veterinary students to pause their university studies to live and conduct basic, clinical or translational research work on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The scholars began their fellowship in July 2019. Baykal will resume her medical education in 2020 and will graduate with the Class of 2022.

Participants receive mentored training and will conduct research in areas that match their personal interests and research goals. For this class, interest in the fields of oncology and neurology was strong, with additional areas of robust interest in otolaryngology (research on causes of deafness and novel treatments for head and neck cancer), immunology, genetics, ophthalmology and urology.

The training experience forms the core of the program and allows these future clinician-scientists to carry out research across the full spectrum of science in the interest of improving public health. The scholars work with an adviser who provides guidance on creating a career development plan and on selecting an NIH research mentor. Mentors are full-time NIH investigators with basic, clinical or translational research programs.

Over the course of the academic year, students participate in courses, journal club seminars, a structured lecture series and clinical teaching rounds at the NIH Clinical Center. They also present their research to the NIH community and at national and international professional conferences.

“The NIH Medical Research Scholars Program attracts the brightest talent from across the country. These scholars are the future leaders in American medicine,” said Thomas R. Burklow, M.D., director of the program.