WCM-Q students complete summer research projects

In the summer of 2023, thirty-four first-year medical students from Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) completed summer research projects in Qatar, the US, and the UK.

The projects are part of the advanced biomedical sciences research (ABSR) elective course, which offers students the opportunity to pursue a personal scholarly experience in biomedical sciences and develop a fundamental understanding of new areas of biomedical science relevant to clinical medicine.

The ABSR elective is open to first-year medical students who wish to graduate with honors in research or who are otherwise interested in developing their scientific investigation and clinical research skills. This student-initiated program invites interested students to submit research proposals for consideration, develop working relations with prospective mentors, and secure invitations to visit and collaborate on research projects.

Of the 34 students who participated, 20 of this year’s participants successfully applied for the Medical Student Research Award (MSRA). Established in 2015, the MSRA is designed to increase student involvement in research, encourage students to take the lead in seeking out research opportunities, train students to secure labs and write research proposals, and centralize available research funding opportunities for students. Through the MSRA, WCM-Q offers funding to medical students to conduct research anywhere in the world for eight continuous weeks between the summer of the first and second year of the medical curriculum. By the end of 2022, 213 WCM-Q medical students received MSRA awards.

The students spent the summer working on research projects in the areas of cardiology, neurology, oncology, genetics, and endocrinology, among other topics, with placements at Weill Cornell Medicine specialized centers in New York, with hospital partner NewYork-Presbyterian, at Houston Methodist Hospital, Boston Children’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Purdue University, Columbia University, Imperial College London, and WCM-Q.

Research placements at WCM-Q came under the expert supervision of faculty members Dr. Nayef Mazloum, assistant professor of microbiology and immunology and assistant dean for student research, Dr. Rayaz Malik, professor of medicine, Dr. Ameed Raoof, associate professor of anatomy in radiology, and Dr. Christopher Triggle, professor of pharmacology. Participating students included Aisha Al-Hammadi, Ahmad Hamza, Amal AlNaemi, Kareem Fanous, Aparajita Sarkar, Maryam Arabi, Maha Al-Namla, and AlDana Al-Khalaf.

The students who traveled to the US to carry out their projects included Jassim Taimour, Aqib Abdul Rahman, Razan Al-Mousawi, Kareem Aly, Mohammed Al-Ansari, Ibrahim Al-Mutawa, Aisha Al-mulla, Noor Al-Sayegh, Yazan Kaddorah, Eman Radwan, Aimen Javed, Azwa Dilawar, Yousef Al-Najjar, Lina Ahmed, Ahmad Al-Ansari, Doo Hee Jang, Lujain Al-Emadi, Sumaya Omar Hussein Ali, Lobna Al-Zeyara, Leena Attyani, Anam Ehtesham, Aya Alshareef, Khadija Elmagarmid, and Abdulla Al-Hashimi, while students Jawaher Alemadi and Haya Al-Kuwari conducted their research in the UK.

Dr. Mazloum said: “This highly intensive summer research program offers students interested in research the perfect opportunity to earn credit, hone their research skills, and work on topics they are passionate about with the support of expert scientists at some of the best scientific laboratories in the world. I am delighted that our students fully embraced this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and benefited from all that the experience has to offer.”

WCM-Q’s Dr. Khaled Machaca, professor of physiology and biophysics/senior associate dean for research, innovations, and commercialization, said: “Since the inception of the research program at WCM-Q over 13 years ago, we have been highly committed to supporting medical student research experience as we are strong believers that this experience enriches their medical training and prepares them to be better physicians in the future. Our students, including this year’s cohort, have consistently shown a high level of enthusiasm for research exposure and have performed admirably. I thank all the mentors for offering their valuable time and sharing their world-class expertise with our students.”

Dr. Thurayya Arayssi, vice dean for academic and curricular affairs, said: “This year’s cohort of participating students exhibited such an inspiring level of motivation and determination to carry out scientific research, and they should all be very proud of themselves. I am confident that this experience will leave a valuable impression on the students and help guide them when considering professional areas of interest further down the line.”