Pediatric Summer Research Program
Seeking four MS1 students Research topics include: Interested students please contact Dr. Autumn Atkinson directly (Autumn.Atkinson@uth.tmc.edu)
Faculty – Autumn Atkinson, MD
Pediatric advocacy
Structured exposure to clinical settings
QI or more programmatic rather than research
Research topics include: Interested students please contact Dr. Anthony Flores (Anthony.R.Flores@uth.tmc.edu)
Faculty – Anthony Flores, MD, MPH, PhD
Pediatric infectious diseases
See additional information opportunities Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society
Research topics include: Interested students please contact Dr. Jacqueline Hecht (Jacqueline.T.Hecht@uth.tmc.edu)
Faculty – Jacqueline Hecht, PhD
Medical Genetics, Orthopedic Genetic Disorders, Dwarfing Conditions, Craniofacial Disorders
Additional information forthcoming soon!
Medical Genetics Summer Scholar Program Supported by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) Overview of Program The goal of the program is to offer the student a well-rounded exposure to the medical specialty, Medical Genetics. All of the students will have the opportunity to shadow at clinic and in the hospital to learn about clinical practice of Medical Genetics. Each student will also undertake a project. The project will be decided upon and performed in collaboration with faculty members in the Division of Medical Genetics. Clinical Exposure The students will interact with all members of the medical genetics team. The Scholars will shadow the four MD Medical Geneticists in the group (Drs. Laura Farach, Hope Northrup, David Rodriguez-Buritica, and Paul Hillman) per an assigned schedule. There are seven Genetic Counselors on our faculty who will work with the student including: 1) Myla Ashfaq, MS, CGC, Coordinator Texas TIPS [Teratogen Hotline Service] and coordinator of Medical Genetics services at Shriners Hospital for Children; 2)Emile Coelho da Silva Moura, MS, CGC, Coordinator of Medical Genetics services at the Gulf States Hemophilia Center and Hematology Division; 3) Lingying (Linda) Liu, MS, CGC, Coordinator of Medical Genetics services at the Harris County Hospital District (HCHD); 4) Leslie Dunnington, MS, CGC, UTPB Clinic Coordinator and Huntington’s Disease Center GC; 5) Kate Mowrey, MS, CGC, TSC Clinic GC and Vascular Anomalies Clinic GC, 6) Katie Leal, MS, CGC, MHH Consult Coordinator and High Risk Clinic GC; and Kathleen Shields, MS, CGC, MHH Consult Coordinator and TIPS GC. There are two Metabolic Dieticians on faculty who will work with the student: Heather Saavedra, MS, RD, LD, and Paige Roberts, MS, RD, LD. The MDs and Metabolic dieticians work closely to care for the patients affected by inborn errors of metabolism (IEMs) many who are identified through the DSHS newborn screening (NBS) program. Additionally, the student will interact with the trainees on the Medical Genetics service including: Medical Genetics Residents (Drs. Jeremy Hill, John Patton, Jessica Bolen and Suad Siuffi Campo), Pediatric Residents, Internal Medicine/Pediatric Residents and Genetic Counseling Masters Students. Interaction with the four Medical Genetics residents will be especially important for the student to learn more about training for a career in Medical Genetics. The students will attend Medical Genetics Rounds (Memorial Hermann Hospital Medical Center Campus) and Medical Genetics Outpatient Clinics (UTPB clinic held three times per week; HCHD CEO Clinic one half day/month; Shriners Hospital for Children one half day/month; Lysosomal Storage Diseases (LSD) Clinic one half day per month, Glycogen Storage Diseases (GSD) Clinic two half days per month, and Tuberous Sclerosis Clinic three half days per month). Working with the medical genetics team in the clinical setting will afford the students the opportunity to learn firsthand about clinical medical genetics. The students will attend the weekly conferences of the Medical Genetics group. Medical Genetics Grand Rounds is held every Thursday morning 8-9 AM. Medical Genetics Grand Rounds reviews clinical topics usually with each topic described in a 30 minute power point presentation by trainees on the service with the input and help of the faculty. Toward the end of the summer training period, the student will provide a presentation for GRs centering around their summer experience and project. Every Friday morning from 8-9 AM is our Clinical Genetics Sign-Out conference. For this conference, 5-10 cases from the previous week assessed in either the inpatient or outpatient setting are selected for in-depth presentation and input from all members of the team. The cases are generally a mixture of definite diagnoses and “unknown” diagnoses. When possible, we show pictures of the patients at this conference to better allow participants to appreciate dysmorphic features and various phenotypic findings. The Pre-Clinic Conference is held 9-10 AM every Friday morning. At this working conference all of the patients scheduled for our outpatient clinics in the coming week are reviewed with all of the trainees on the Medical Genetics service. The Summer Scholars all receive a stipend of $25.00 per hour for 40 hours a week ($1000.00 weekly). We are flexible about the length of time a Scholar can participate in the program. Scholars can participate as few as 8 weeks and as many as 10 weeks. If the Scholar has plans for a vacation during the program, this is acceptable with time off arranged through Dr. Northrup, Program Director. The Scholar will be required to provide a presentation at the DSHS in Austin at the end of the program. The Scholar will receive help and coaching for the DSHS and grand rounds presentations from their mentors. 2023 call for Summer Scholars applications will be made mid-December 2022 with a February 1, 2023 deadline. Names of trainees from the previous three years and their abstracts are at this site. Medical Genetics Summer Scholars Program Application (DUE February 1 of each year)
Seeking four MS1 students Interested students please contact Dr. Tina Findley (Tina.O.Findley@uth.tmc.edu)
Faculty – Tina Findley, MD
Research topics include:
Congenital heart defect
Congenital hypothyroidism
Newborn screening
Neonatal
Note: MS1 students in this program MUST also apply to the Summer Research Program (SRP) MS1 online application at https://med.uth.edu/oep/msro/msro-programs/srp/ (DUE February 1 of each year)
Updated as of 1/6/2023