Jessica Briscoe of Houston chosen for prestigous Howard Hughes Medical Institute Medical Research Fellows Program

2017 May 1

Jessica Briscoe of Houston has been selected for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Medical Research Fellows Program, alomg with 78 other talented medical and veterinary students. The Fellows are selected to conduct in-depth, mentored biomedical research. Ms.Briscoe is now completing her third year of medical school at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine and will participate in HHMI mentored research at Harvard Medical School.

According to HHMI, 53 percent of the awardees are female, the greatest representation of women in the program to date. Starting this summer, each fellow will spend a year pursuing basic, translational, or applied biomedical research at one of 32 academic or nonprofit research institutions across the United States.

"The Med Fellows Program allows exceptional MD, DVM, and DDS students to effectively shift course and conduct rigorous research at top institutions throughout the country," said David Asai, senior director in science education at HHMI. "It's an extraordinary opportunity for future physicians, veterinarians, and dentists to explore the intersection of medicine and scientific discovery, and we hope that each student comes away further empowered to pursue a career as a physician-scientist."

The Med Fellows Program takes a multilevel mentoring approach to help incoming fellows get off to a strong start, make new connections, and access a network of support throughout their fellowship year. Various meetings bring the fellows together to connect with newly minted Med Fellow alumni, early-career faculty, and senior investigators to participate in seminars and learn from physician-scientists at various career stages. The most direct form of support comes from each fellow's mentor.

In collaboration with HHMI, five partners - the American Society of Human Genetics, Burroughs Wellcome Fund, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy, Foundation Fighting Blindness, and Parkinson's Foundation - will fund 8 of the 79 aspiring physician- and veterinarian- scientists, bringing the program's total investment to $3.4 million. Today, 28 years after the Med Fellows Program was first launched, it has helped more than 1,700 medical, veterinary and dental students establish a foothold in the research world.