Program Dates 2008:
June 23, 2008 - August 8, 2008

It is our good fortune to have in the United States the best of medical facilities and constant state of the art research, providing ongoing advancement of knowledge and development of new treatment approaches. Yet, we face the challenge of addressing major gaps in research, health care, preventive measures, health policy, and bridging cultural barriers for a large segment of our population who are from traditionally underserved groups. The Institute of Medicine issued a report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, highlighting the severity of disparities in health care among racial and ethnic minorities. Among its specific recommendations is increasing the number of minorities represented in the health professions. Addressing these disparities is one of the highest priorities in US medicine.

Of critical importance in addressing such disparities is training a racially and ethnically diverse physician work force. Antonio M. Gotto, Jr., M.D., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University states: “As a nation we have yet to reach our goals in training a sufficiently diverse physician work force. With our increasingly diverse U.S. population, it is imperative that we train more minority physicians so that we can bring the best health care to all of our patients. To accomplish that also requires bringing that diverse perspective to medical research, medical education, and health policy.” The presence of diversity among medical students becomes a critical mutual education process for all medical students, faculty, and administrators. Minority students become the physicians who we need to assist the field of medicine in addressing our major disparities in health care. Our Medical College and the Travelers Summer Research Fellowship has been and remains an essential part of that effort.

Identifying potential medical students who have a major interest in the medical problems of the underserved is critical. Every effort must be made to include among our medical student body students who have had life experience with a range of issues affecting diverse groups, including minorities and the underserved, who have demonstrated direct interest in such issues via activity with various student organizations that target minority issues, and have the career ambition to address the problems of the medically underserved.

The Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program is designed to give 25 premedical students deeper insights into the field of medicine, including issues that greatly affect the health of traditionally underserved groups. Through the experiences of laboratory or clinical research, the student learns how one pursues a specific research problem under the supervision of a faculty member, thus providing an early education into basic research techniques that could be applicable to any area of medicine. A lecture series explores topics in cardiovascular physiology, exposing the students to basic science concepts that are relevant to a more specific understanding of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, both of which are major problems in minority communities. The summer fellows attend a series of talks by minority physicians about various medical specialties, addressing issues of concern in these physician's daily work plus views of the bigger picture in health care to minority communities. Rounds in the hospital with advanced year students provide further exposure to the clinical facets of medicine. Students in the summer program receive counseling on financial planning for medical school and how to examine the financial aid package.

The Traveler's Summer Research Fellowship Program is directed by Dr. Carlyle H. Miller, who is the Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Equal Opportunity Programs. Dr. Miller has been a member of the Medical College faculty since 1980 and is an active member of the Admissions Committee.

Last summer's fellows came from a wide range of institutions:

Alcorn State University
Cornell University
CUNY - City College
Florida State University
Harvard College
Morehouse College
Rice University
Rutgers University
Saint Louis University
Spelman College
St. John's University
Stevens Institute of Technology
Temple University
Towson University
University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
University of Washington
Washington University in St. Louis
Whitman College

Students receive a $140-a-week cost-of-living allowance and are housed rent - free in the dormitory for medical students, but are required to pay for their meals and other living expenses. Travel expenses are paid for students that live some distance from New York.