Description
UM-SMART is designed for undergraduate students who have an interest in obtaining a combined MD/PhD degree leading to a career in academic medicine as a physician-scientist performing basic research relevant to human health and disease. As a UM-SMART summer research fellow, students work full-time in a basic research laboratory under the mentorship of a research faculty member.
The goal of the UM-SMART program is to help students decide if a career as a physician-scientist is right for them, and to enhance competitiveness when applying to MD/PhD programs. The UM-SMART has helped 77 undergraduate participants learn about MD/PhD training since 2008. After graduation, 76% of past participants entered MD/PhD, PhD, or MD programs.
This 10-week program is aimed at students who have some amount of basic and mechanistic research experience related to medicine and are interested in gaining more experience to advance their career goals. UM-SMART is not intended for students seeking clinical research experience on human subjects. Additionally, we do not offer opportunities in public health, the social sciences, or humanities.