Medical students present research at forum in Carmel

Caroline Behler won the award for the best hematology paper.

The School of Medicine sent a delegation of 69 students to the American Federation of Medical Research Western Regional Meetings in Carmel, Calif., last month—far more than any other western medical school.

The number of medical students presenting research projects at the Western Student Medical Research Forum is partly a function of the school's commitment to expose its students to research and partly a result of the extraordinary support provided to cover students' expenses to attend the meeting.

For the past several years, the Turner Society Fund, supported by the school's faculty, alumni and friends, has funded students going to the meeting, with additional support from faculty mentors and the Dean's Office.

This year's trip turned out to be more exciting than usual, since the group arrived just before one of the season's most severe winter storms struck the California coast. The meeting sessions were plagued by power outages—some students handed around their slides with flashlights for viewing, and others had their presentations canceled. Many students had to be moved to a different hotel.

Genevieve Pagalilauan presented the best paper in behavior/development.

In spite of the storm, most of the meeting went on as planned. Three UW medical students won awards for the best papers in their subspecialties: Caroline Behler in hematology, Genevieve Pagalilaun in behavior/development, and Cari Sutton in morphology/dysmorphology. Several other students were finalists in the poster presentation category.

For many years, the School of Medicine has required each student to complete a research project and a paper describing it. This Independent Study in Medical Science (ISMS) requirement is administered through the office of the assistant dean for curriculum, Dr. Joe Chu.

"Our goals are to have all students develop an understanding of how medical knowledge is derived, to have students develop a mentor relationship with a faculty member, to give them a chance to do some writing, and to allow them to work on projects in which they have a personal interest," Chu said.

Each student finds a faculty sponsor to help design the project and evaluate the work. Chu noted that faculty members are very supportive of the research requirement and it's not difficult to find faculty sponsors. "But this is a difficult program to administer," Chu said. Suzanne Johnson in Chu's office is responsible for tracking the ISMS projects and making sure all students meet the requirement.

Cari Sutton won for the best paper in morphology/dysmorphology. Photos by Jordan Rehm.

For some students, the Medical Student Research Training Program provides support for research projects and a stipend. While students can apply for any quarter, the majority of the projects are carried out in the summer between a student's first and second years of medical school. Funding is provided through the Dean's Office and awards are competitive. Last summer, about 35 students participated in this program.

At the Carmel presentations, students' topics ranged from screening for gestational alcohol exposure to interactions between macrophages and bacteria, with physician-assisted suicide and telemedicine among many other topics.

"Many students took advantage of the opportunity to meet people from other medical schools in the West, and learn about new, exciting research," reported Hilary Bowers, a second-year medical student who went to Carmel.

"The students felt it was a wonderful forum in which to present their research," she added, "and appreciated their faculty sponsors, the Turner Society and the Dean of Medicine's Office for providing funding."

Dean of Medicine Paul Ramsey, along with associate deans John Coombs, Dan Dorsa and Bruce Gilliland, attended the meetings along with the students and Chu.

"This program provides an excellent opportunity for students to present the results of their research projects," Dean Ramsey said. "University of Washington medical students turned in a very fine performance at the Carmel meetings this year, both in terms of their level of participation and the recognition that they earned. In addition to congratulating the students, I also thank the many faculty who opened their research labs and offered generous support for the students' efforts." ¶

Claire Dietz