Julie (Yajie) An, M3, has been selected along with 51 other medical and dental students from across the country to participate in a comprehensive, year-long research program through the National Institutes of Health (NIH). After researching her top primary investigators and successfully completing a rigorous interview process at the NIH’s Bethesda, Maryland headquarters, An was chosen for the Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP) – an opportunity for students to step back from school for a year and delve into research at the nation’s renowned medical research agency.

The MRSP was launched in 2012-13, combining two NIH training initiatives that had operated in parallel until then— the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-NIH Research Scholars Program and the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP). An is the first NEOMED student to be selected for the program, which provides housing, moving expenses and an annual stipend.

Relaxing in NEOMED’s NEW Center after an internal medicine exam, An said that she is excited to take the clinical foundation she has gained at NEOMED and apply it to real-life medical questions and problems. The program curriculum covers a range of research topics including design and performance of an original research project, participation and presentation at research meetings and journal clubs, attending seminars on clinical research design and grant funding, and learning how research can fit in with teaching and being a clinician. An looks forward to living alongside her student cohort on the NIH campus and to having the opportunity to explore Washington, D.C.

Eager to Explore
Born in Beijing to a family of engineers and raised early on by her grandparents on a university campus, An moved with her parents to Akron when she was seven. She came to NEOMED through the accelerated six-year BS/MD pathway, receiving honors at the University of Akron. An enthusiastic traveler who can tell you about off-the-beaten-track places to visit around Beijing, she is eager to explore new facets of research, medicine and the world in general.

Jeffrey Susman, M.D., and Elizabeth Young, M.D., the dean and vice dean, respectively, of the College of Medicine, have been very supportive of her pursuing opportunities outside the school, says An. The summer after her first year of medical school, she explored the field of kidney cancer research at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore through another NIH-funded program, Medical Student Training in Aging Research. Working with Dr. Mark Ball and Dr. Philip Pierorazio at Hopkins inspired her: “They are surgeons who are personable, great teachers, and even better clinicians. It’s good to see that people can do everything and do it well.’’

An says she looks looking forward to working with a group of students who will be peers over the next academic year – some of them, she hopes, for many years to come. She’ll be separated from the NEOMED cohort she has been with since age 18, but will stay loyal, she promises: “I’ll be back for Match Day!”