Yale BioMed Amgen Scholars Program

Transcript

• 00:09- The Yale BioMed Amgen Scholars Program
• 00:12is a nine week summer research experience for undergraduates
• 00:16who are interested in pursuing careers in biomedical research
• 00:19and it really focuses on providing students with the laboratory experience,
• 00:24mentorship, and professional skills that they'll need
• 00:27to have a successful career as a physician-scientist or scientist.
• 00:31- We have peer mentors who work with the students to develop skills
• 00:34and also provide a network that lasts far beyond the program.
• 00:38- And the BioMed Amgen Program is housed in the School of Medicine itself
• 00:41so we get to live with the MD-PhD students and the graduate students live.
• 00:45So we are really a part of the graduate school community here.
• 00:50- The program has done a wonderful job
• 00:51of collecting individuals from all different walks of life,
• 00:54and being able to hear from their stories
• 00:56and hear their aspirations, and how that has inspired them to pursue
• 00:59medicine or research has been very interesting to see,
• 01:03and I think personally,
• 01:04it's been a wonderful opportunity not only to conduct research with faculty
• 01:07that are very respected,
• 01:08but also to meet peers who are just as driven and passionate about things
• 01:12I care about as well.
• 01:19- This program has really allowed me to become fully immersed
• 01:22in the work and the culture
• 01:25of an academic research lab, and it's given me the chance
• 01:28to really make meaningful contributions to really exciting, cutting edge research.
• 01:34- Currently, the most popular research interests areas for our applicants
• 01:39have been neuroscience, immunobiology, and cancer biology.
• 01:44But we also have students that come and participate in things like
• 01:47developmental and structural biology in addition to biomedical engineering projects.
• 01:52- So for me, I've got to learn different techniques and also gotten the opportunity
• 01:56to shadow different people doing things that I've never seen before.
• 02:01- It's also great to be able to practice presenting research,
• 02:05because not only in our final presentation
• 02:08will we get to do a flash talk and a poster presentation,
• 02:11but I've also done a presentation within my lab.
• 02:14There's been a lot of opportunities for me to practice
• 02:17and refine and really get better at presenting the science.
• 02:25- Primarily because it's research intensive,
• 02:27a majority of the time the students spend working in labs.
• 02:31But we recognize for them to be successful as scientists or physician-scientists,
• 02:36we need to give them some additional skills.
• 02:39So we do have a didactic curriculum that provides them with the knowledge
• 02:43and skill sets that they would need to be
• 02:45successful in applying for either a PhD or MD-PhD program.
• 02:49- They do weekly journal clubs.
• 02:50So essentially we've been able to, you know, read papers that have revolutionized
• 02:54their respective fields.
• 02:56And one of the nice things is that we not only just read these papers,
• 02:59but we also get to present parts of the paper to our peers.
• 03:03- Everyone Wednesday, there's a career development talk.
• 03:06The conversations they have typically span things like
• 03:09how to deal with imposter syndrome, or how to write an abstract,
• 03:12how to apply to medical school or PhD programs, things of that nature.
• 03:17- And then we also have the faculty talks here at Yale,
• 03:20where we get to hear from various Yale faculty,
• 03:23including current MD-PhD students.
• 03:25- And then we also have opportunities for clinical engagement
• 03:30for students that are considering pursuing an MD-PhD degree.
• 03:39- We recognize that mentorship is very important for having a successful scientific career.
• 03:45So we provide mentorship on many different levels.
• 03:48In addition to the faculty research mentor that they have,
• 03:52we also have current MD-PhD, and PhD students that serve as peer mentors
• 03:57and they're a very integral part of the program.
• 04:00These relationships lasts way beyond the program,
• 04:03and they really create that network in the sense of community.
• 04:08- When I first applied to these summer programs
• 04:10and then to MD-PhD programs,
• 04:12I didn’t really see someone who'd be like me or have qualities like mine
• 04:15where I could be like, you know, I could see myself doing this long term.
• 04:18And so now being on the other side, I kind of enjoy being that point person,
• 04:22answer any questions that there might be
• 04:24in terms of like the application process, you know,
• 04:26should I apply to this conference or the other?
• 04:28Like what should my abstract look like, which my post should look like?
• 04:30How should I present myself?
• 04:32It's game changing. It's like it's incredible.
• 04:34- I've had an incredible experience working with my mentor,
• 04:37so it's been wonderful to be able to see firsthand what life could look like
• 04:41a few years from now.
• 04:42- We actually involve the students families in the program.
• 04:45So from the very start, we've been able to invite a family member
• 04:49to travel to Yale and see the students present their research In the final symposium.
• 04:53The family members get to see the accomplishments of the student,
• 04:57but they also meet with other people who are equally excited about science.
• 05:04- I would recommend this program to someone else beause
• 05:07it has provided me a clear answer on what I want to do in my life
• 05:10and what I want to go forward with
• 05:12in my graduate school career and my undergrad career.
• 05:14- Programs like this are really helpful
• 05:17to get the message out there that people who look like me,
• 05:21and who come from backgrounds that are similar to mine,
• 05:24do have a place in scientific research.
• 05:30- It's really hard to be it if you've never seen it.
• 05:34This is an opportunity for a lot of kids to see what it means to be
• 05:37doing biomedical research at a place like Yale.
• 05:41They come here sometimes a bit scared,
• 05:43and I think what makes me happiest is they leave
• 05:45and they are convinced that they belong here.