# Short-term Training: students in health professional schools

> **NIH NIH T35** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2020 · $127,526

## Abstract

Project Summary
Numerous reports by the National Research Council of the National Academies of Science have
argued for increased efforts to expand the number of veterinarians in research careers. Veterinary
students receive extensive training in the comparison of multiple animal species and the application of
knowledge across species boundaries. As such, veterinarians are well attuned to the identification of
animal models that might serve as models of human disease. Veterinarians are also adept at
understanding mechanisms of infectious disease spread as the majority of emerging infectious
diseases are zoonotic. However, a relatively small number of veterinarians are actively involved in
biomedical research. Exposure of veterinary students, early in their training, to biomedical research
has been shown to increase the numbers of veterinarians who pursue biomedical research careers.
For the past 27 years the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, has administered a
short-term summer research program for first and second year veterinary students to participate in
research training. This program has enabled 404 different veterinary students to perform biomedical
research with 161 different faculty members at Penn. Veterinary students, with the help of an executive
committee, identify faculty sponsors at Penn. A core of 31 well funded and experienced faculty serve
as training mentors. Students write a research proposal that is well defined and addresses an
interesting problem in biomedical research. Applications are reviewed with respect to the credentials of
the student, merit of the research proposal, and training environment of the sponsor's laboratory.
Students perform research in the mentor's laboratory during the months of June, July, and August and
participate in weekly seminars that provide training in grant writing, data presentation in written, poster
and oral formats, and information on career opportunities in academia, industry, and government.
Students also participate in trips to NIH, the Philadelphia Science Center, and the Merial-NIH
Veterinary Scholars Symposium. Students present their research orally and in poster format, and must
submit their work in the form of a written scientific manuscript. Thus students receive training in all
aspects of biomedical research. Our outcomes data indicate that Program graduates are much more
likely to pursue further education, graduate studies, and research careers, and are much less likely to
pursue private practice clinical careers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9892041
- **Project number:** 5T35OD010919-23
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Michael Lee Atchison
- **Activity code:** T35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $127,526
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 1998-01-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9892041

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9892041, Short-term Training: students in health professional schools (5T35OD010919-23). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9892041. Licensed CC0.

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