Medical Student Research

The UT Southwestern Medical School has a long-standing commitment to fostering research by its students. At the core of this effort is the opportunity for all medical students enrolled at UT Southwestern to engage in a variety of research activities - both basic and clinical - during the summer break in conjunction with the faculty at UT Southwestern. The office of the Associate Dean for Medical Student Research is charged with organizing these activities.

A large number of UT Southwestern medical students take advantage of this program each year. Most students choose to participate during the summer prior to and/or following their freshman year. Students begin the process of choosing the laboratory in which they will work during the school year, and then finalize this choice in the spring. The research begins after the school year is over and lasts for approximately 10 weeks. Students are paid a research stipend during this period and are able to attend a series of weekly luncheon seminars in which faculty and former student researchers discuss the fundamentals of basic and clinical research. Students are encouraged to submit their work to national and regional meetings, including the UT Southwestern Medical Student Research Forum. 

In addition to summer research activities, students are encouraged to explore yearlong research programs in basic or clinical research. National research programs, such as those supported by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and by the Sarnoff Foundation, represent programs that afford comprehensive research training in a variety of disciplines. The recent establishment of the Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship for medical students at UT Southwestern will permit students to obtain outstanding training in clinical research at the UT Southwestern campus.