Communications

Howard Hughes Medical Institute Scholars

2008-09 Scholars

Lillian M. Guenther – SUNY Downstate Medical University
Lillian Guenther, 25, of Pelham, NY, will have the opportunity to conduct biomedical research fulltime for one year.  Her primary research is in genetics and molecular biology and her anticipated residency is in pediatric hematology-oncology.

Wee-Tin (Katherine) Kao – Stony Brook University
Katherine Kao, 23, of Stony Brook, NY, just finished her second year of med school is planning to work in a neuroscience laboratory and her fields of interest include epilepsy and plasticity/remodeling of the nervous system.

As part of the 2008-09 program, 42 students—from 26 medical schools, three veterinary schools, one dental school, and one osteopathic school—will participate in the HHMI-NIH Research Scholars Program, which brings top medical students to the National Institutes of Health campus to participate in hands-on biomedical research. Students in this program are also known as Cloister Scholars because they live in apartments and dormitory-style rooms at a refurbished cloister on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Md., during their training. They visit several NIH labs before choosing the research project they will pursue with an NIH mentor.

For the 2008-2009 program year, scholars receive annual compensation of $27,000, health insurance and numerous other benefits.

*updated June 2008