Thirty-two second-year medical students from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) completed biomedical summer research projects at elite international institutions in Qatar, the US and the UK.
The projects are part of the college’s Advanced Biomedical Sciences Research (ABSR) elective course, which offers students who have completed the first year of the medical curriculum the opportunity to pursue a personal scholarly experience in biomedical science.
The elective is open to students who wish to graduate with honours in research or who otherwise are interested in developing their scientific investigation and clinical research skills.
This student-initiated programme invites students to submit research proposals for consideration, develop working relationships with prospective mentors and secure invitations to visit and collaborate on research projects.
The eight-week programme offers a variety of experiences, including clinical research, laboratory research, social science projects, public health projects, and other translational projects.
The majority of this year’s cohort of participating students were awarded the Medical Student Research Award (MSRA), which is provided by the WCM-Q Research Division, to support their travel.
The students spent the summer working on research projects in orthopaedics, neurology, oncology, haematology, immunology, and endocrinology, among others, with placements at specialised centres at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York, New York-Presbyterian, the University of Oxford, and WCM-Q.
Student Abdulla al-Mutawa spent the summer at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York in the laboratory of Dr Shahin Rafii, founding director of the Hartman Institute for Therapeutic Organ Regeneration, the Arthur B Belfer Professor of Genetic Medicine, chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Medicine and director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute, learning how to preserve the diverse phenotype of mesenchymal stromal cells through modulation of TGF-ß signalling.
Student Luai Hommos joined Dr Mootaz Salman, associate professor of neurobiology, in his lab at the University of Oxford to investigate blood-brain barrier (BBB) integrity in mouse models of induced synucleinopathy.
Parkinson’s disease and other synucleinopathies are increasingly linked to early breakdown of the BBB, which may serve as a diagnostic marker before clinical symptoms appear.
Dr Nayef Mazloum, associate professor of microbiology and immunology, and associate dean for student research at WCM-Q, said: "This year’s cohort of students has shown a consistent commitment to strengthening their research skills, and I am extremely proud of everything they have achieved over the summer.”