The National Institutes of Health has selected 55 talented and diverse students, representing 37 U.S.-accredited universities, for the fourth class of its Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP), its largest class to date.

A yearlong residential program, the MRSP introduces medical, dental and veterinary students to cutting-edge research, part of NIH's goal of training the next generation of clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers. The program places creative, research-oriented students in NIH laboratories and clinics, including within the NIH Clinical Center, to conduct basic, clinical or translational research in areas that match their career interests and research goals.

A mentored research training experience forms the core of this program and allows these future clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers to carry out research across the full spectrum of science in the interest of improving public health.

"The NIH has a proud history of training clinician-scientists, many of whom have gone on to win the Nobel Prize or to lead major medical research organizations," said Michael Gottesman, M.D., deputy director for intramural research at NIH. "These students will be introduced to incredibly innovative research, among the best in the world, and I know they will be up to the challenge."

The 55 selected participants include 54 medical and one dental student and include 25 females and 13 from underrepresented minority groups.

"Competition for this program is intense, and we have had the good fortune of being able to pick from the very best of the best," said Yvonne Maddox, Ph.D., acting director of NIH’s National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, a major financial supporter of this year’s class. Maddox, a member of the MRSP recruitment team, also stated, "Our new class more closely resembles the diversity that has made the United States a world leader in technology and biomedical research and reflects a concerted recruitment effort to reach out to more segments of the research and academic communities."

In addition to a rigorous research agenda, MRSP scholars participate in courses, journal club seminars, a structured lecture series and clinical teaching rounds. They also present their research to the NIH community and at domestic professional conferences. Each scholar is assigned a tutor/advisor, who provides guidance in defining a well-articulated career development plan and in selecting a dedicated NIH research mentor. Mentors are fulltime NIH investigators with established basic, clinical or translational research programs.

The MRSP is co-sponsored by the NIH and other partners, including the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, American Association for Dental Research, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Colgate-Palmolive Company and other private donors, via contributions to the Foundation for the NIH. The 55 selected participants for the 2015–2016 NIH MRSP are provided below.

The 2015-2016 NIH Medical Research Scholars Program participants

• Comfort O. Elumogo - Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine

• Saman Sizdahkhani - Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University

• Taylor J. Aiken - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Chinedu I. Anyaeji - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Lauren G. Banaszak - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Ruth J. Davis - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Adeeb Derakhshan - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Scott A. Galey - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Matthew D. Greer - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Elizabeth A. Hinds - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Damilola Phillips - Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western University

• Karissa Arthur -Commonwealth Medical College

• Monica K. Neuman - Creighton University School of Medicine

• Renee M. Thomas - David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

• Michael J. Hochman - Duke University School of Medicine

• Ehren K. Dancy - Emory University School of Medicine

• Christian M. Mustroph - Emory University School of Medicine

• Christopher T. Sauter - Emory University School of Medicine

• Jason A. Alvarez - Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

• Nicole A. Colwell - Florida International University Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

• Luca F. Valle - Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

• Brittany U. Olive - George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences

• Maggie M. Wei - Georgetown University School of Medicine

• Lauren A. Barber - Harvard Medical School

• David J. Kirby - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• Jana P. Lovell - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• Tina Munjal - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• Steven J. Penybaker - Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

• Stephen Xue - Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans

• Matthew J. Watson - Michigan State University College of Osteopathic Medicine

• Joseph B. Lerman - Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University

• Diana P. Melo - New York University School of Medicine

• Eugenia H. Miranti - Northwestern University The Feinberg School of Medicine

• Rachel J. Hunt - Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine

• Janani Singaravelu - Ohio State University College of Medicine

• Roger B. Murayi - Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania

• Victor R. Carlson - Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

• Andrew M. Sohn - Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

• Michael A. Simmons - University of Arizona College of Medicine

• James S. Nix - University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Medicine

• David Kuo - University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine

• Brandon K. Tan - University of Cincinnati College of Medicine

• Houda Boucekkine - University of Miami Miller School of Medicine

• Tarek Metwally - University of Michigan School of Dentistry

• Eric D. Merrill - University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine

• Lingsheng Li - University of Oklahoma College of Medicine

• Michael Kongnyuy - University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine

• Elizabeth J. Carstens - University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas

• Amanda Truong - University of Utah School of Medicine

• Ishan Asokan - Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

• Akhil Muthigi - Wake Forest University School of Medicine

• Barrington A. Quarrie - Wake Forest University School of Medicine

• Roop K. Dutta - Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

• Alanna K. Tisdale - Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University

• Tsion M. Aberra - Yale University School of Medicine

About the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP): The IRP is the internal research program of the NIH, known for its synergistic approach to biomedical science. With approximately 1,100 principal investigators and more than 4,000 postdoctoral fellows conducting basic, translational, and clinical research, the IRP is the world's largest biomedical research institution. For more information about the IRP and its programs, visit https://www.irp.nih.gov.