Research Experiences

Brief Description:
Volunteering in RR ER to assist with enrollment of stroke patients into clinical trials. In addition, participate in health fairs and community events and give workshops on stroke education and treatments to the general public. Sister org to Stroke Team, and time is split 1/2 in ER, 1/2 at community speaking events.

Visit Website

Student Comment:

1. “Overall a very well-rounded program. Like Stroke Team, you get ample experience in the ER and become familiar with the residents and stroke protocol. You additionally get the opportunity to attend neuro rounds and grand rounds, which is valuable shadowing experience. In addition, you are able to improve your public speaking skills from all the community events and health fairs you attend. Your ER shifts are the exact same as Stroke Team's, but you only have them every other week on weekends. One drawback of this program is that you do not have as much ER time, and may feel less knowledgeable compared with your stroke team co's. However, this is made up by the fact that you get to participate in community outreach. For those who desire the Stroke Team experience, but are willing to sacrifice some hospital exposure for public speaking and community engagement.”

Brief Description:
Research - Volunteering in the Ronald Reagan ER to assist with enrollment of stroke patients into clinical trials for novel stroke treatments

Visit Website

Student Comments:

1. “This is an incredible opportunity to work closely with neurologists and ER physicians, learn how doctors detect and diagnose disease, and better understand brain anatomy. When a stroke code is called in the ER, you'll witness the neurological exam, help determine a patient's eligibility for a stroke clinical trial, follow the patient's care from the ED to imaging, and present the case to the project PI. You'll also join the medical team on morning rounds to learn how they develop treatment plans for patients and how they engage with patients and their families. My favorite moments were the many times the doctors would teach me how to interpret imaging and think critically about patient care. It also helps you develop tangible skills you can apply in medical school and beyond (i.e., oral presentations)”
2. “Excellent opportunity. I applied 7 times in Undergrad and unfortunately didn't get in. Everything panned out okay but it's a good reminder that these organizations are extremely competitive. Even if you don't get in, find your own way around. Success isn't only for those who are part of EMRA/Stroke team/MCP, etc.”

Brief Description:
Research associates are trained to conduct clinical research studies, collect and maintain securitized data, assist in the authorship of research protocols, aid in statistical analyses, and co-author abstracts, posters, and papers.

Visit Website

Student Comment:

1. “I was able to get involved in various clinical research projects through this org, and also was able to shadow a whole bunch of physicians at RR! Also, everything you do for this program also gets documented as volunteer hours through the hospital. I ended up getting a really great LOR from the advisors, since you really get to work closely with them. The recruitment process is pretty intense (two rounds of interviews)”

Visit Website

Student Comment:

1. “As a research assistant in the DiSH lab, you get to work with other wonderful undergraduates, graduates, post-docs, and faculty who are committed to learning about the relationship between dieting, stress, and health. Dr. Tomiyama (PI) is a wonderful person to get to know personally. She also teaches a health psychology class where basically the whole class gets an A; so, if you can take that I'd really recommend it. Overall, I had a very positive experience in this lab and would recommend anyone to join. They typically recruit at the beginning of the year and spring if I remember correctly.”

Brief Description:
Research - Microbiome, wet lab/basic science

Visit Website

Student Comment:

1. “Incredible mentor, research opportunity, collaborative environment. Rigorous, expects significant time commitment (up to you, definitely need to be self-motivated, they won't explicitly tell you that you need to put more time in but it'll be obvious). Excellent opportunity to explore basic science research, poster/presentation/publications, and be part of an extremely diverse, malleable area of research relatable to basically all fields of medicine these days. Elaine is incredibly kind, supportive, but also has high expectations. Fun lab environment, quarterly happy hours/lab outings. Very strong letter of rec if you do well. From what I hear, a more competitive lab to apply into these days, but well worth It!”

Brief Description:
Research - Behavioral Anthropology

Visit Website

Student Comment:

1. “Interesting, unique research on human behavior. Large lab, most students inducted by taking one of his bio anthro classes. Can become involved and have opportunities to present posters/publish, but also can be just one of 25 undergrads doing data collection. Nice PI and was a kind of random but conversation-starting involvement to talk about.”