Short-term biomedical research training program for veterinary students

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ABSTRACT The objective of this professional student short-term research training grant is to provide predoctoral training opportunities to 14 veterinary students annually who have completed their first or second year with immersive experiential learning by carrying out mentored biomedical research, enriched by seminars and events that are designed to inspire them for careers combining their medical training and research. The goal of the program is to capture the enthusiasm and imaginations of DVM students early in their training to prime their appreciation and capacity for basic and translational research. Students will be engaged in hypothesis- driven discovery and problem-solving research in a high-quality laboratory setting for 12 weeks during the summer. Only the most outstanding researchers/mentors from have been included as trainees in the proposed research training program. Participating faculty have been grouped into the following areas of research excellence: 1) Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Pathogenesis, 2) Vector Borne Diseases and Disease Ecology, 3) Immunity and Immune Modulation 4) Airway Biology and Disese 5) Comparative Toxicology and 5) Animal Models, Sponaneous Diseases in Animals and Translational Studies, serving as convergent foci. A week long orientation program, and special events have been designed to guide the students for success in this experiential learning opportunity. Training in responsible conduct of research and data reproducibility and reliability are integral parts of the program with special sessions and seminars reinforcing these principles. Recruitment efforts planned are directed not only to DVM students in our college, but to veterinary students from other U.S. colleges of veterinary medicine and are designed to ensure that students underrepresented in the biomedical sciences have access to this research experience. All students participating in the program are required to present their research results at the annual College of Veterinary Medicine Phi Zeta Research Day, and encouraged to present at the National Veterinary Scholars Symposium and other national professional meetings, and to publish their work with their mentors, as appropriate. Increasing our human capital in veterinary scientists is critical to the protection of public health and advancement of science that benefits animals and humans, both as individuals and as populations. Summer research experiences provide a critical step into the research enterprise to the veterinary students early in their training and foster interest and develop aptitude for further training in the biomedical sciences, serving as a steping stone for research intensive careers as biomedical scientists.