Senior Associate Dean for Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences Anthony Speights, M. D.( left) and IMS Associate Dean Elizabeth Foster, Ph. D.( far right), proudly bracket the members of the Bridge to Clinical Medicine Class of 2025, who two weeks later became first-year medical students in the M. D. Class of 2029.
Bridge students’ research presentations celebrate success
By Audrey Post FSU College of Medicine
Students in every program at the College of Medicine have an opportunity to conduct research as part of their curriculum. For some, including students in the Bridge to Clinical Medicine master’ s degree program, it is required. And working on the research projects in the second half of the year can be akin to stepping through a magic portal.
As part of the Research Project and Writing courses, students are immersed in a health-related research lab, develop a research prospectus and carry out their investigation for a minimum of six weeks, all under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Students write detailed research reports of their findings and deliver an oral summary, complete with a presentation, detailing not only what the findings were, but also what they learned about health research in the process and how their research could be built upon.
Their presentations, evaluated by a team from the College of Medicine faculty, are vital for successful completion of the master’ s degree in biomedical sciences and admission into the next M. D. class, which starts just a couple of weeks after graduation from Bridge.
“ For many of these students, this is their introduction to scientific research,” said Anthony Speights, M. D., senior associate dean for Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences and director of the Bridge program.“ Luckily, they don’ t have to navigate the process alone. Leading researchers from throughout the College of Medicine and from across the Florida State University campus volunteer as mentors year after year.”
Among the College of Medicine faculty who repeatedly mentor are Professor Angelina Sutin, Ph. D., and Professor
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