UCSF FRESNO ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS FOR HIGH SCHOOL MEDICAL RESEARCH INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

FRESNO – UCSF Fresno is accepting applications for its 25th Summer Biomedical Research Internship Program (SBI), which provides Central San Joaquin Valley high school students an opportunity to gain first-hand experience with careers in medicine and valuable research skills. Students in their junior year of high school from Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties are eligible to apply.

Selected students will work with UCSF Fresno faculty members from June 2012 through August 2012 on a variety of research projects in the Fresno area. Last year, seven students were assigned to research projects involving pulmonary hypertension, adolescent diabetes, adrenal insufficiency, cancer screenings and asthma.

In addition to conducting research, students in the SBI visit the University of California, San Francisco campus as well as observe a surgical procedure at Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.

More than 200 high-achieving students have graduated from the program, which began in 1988. Many of the students are now health professionals working in the Central San Joaquin Valley.

Students are selected based on academic merit, their responses to a questionnaire, interviews and letters of recommendation from their teachers. Thanks to the generous support of EHS Medical Group, every participant will be awarded a stipend.

The application deadline is Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2012. For applications or more information, please visit http://www.fresno.ucsf.edu/sbi/ or contact Kelly Noorani at (559) 499-6427.

UCSF Fresno Medical Education Program, established in 1975, plays a substantial role in providing healthcare services to residents of California's San Joaquin Valley and training medical professionals in the region. The medical education program has trained approximately one-third of Central San Joaquin Valley physicians. Annually, UCSF Fresno currently trains approximately 245 medical residents in eight specialties, 45 fellows in 12 subspecialties and about 250 medical students on a rotating basis.

UCSF Fresno faculty and medical residents engage in a broad spectrum of research addressing health issues pertinent to the Valley. UCSF Fresno faculty and residents also care for the overwhelming majority of the region’s underserved populations. In addition, UCSF Fresno provides academic preparation programs for middle- and high school students interested in the health professions through the Doctors Academy and Junior Doctors Academy.

UCSF Fresno is a key partner in the UC Merced San Joaquin Program in Medical Education. UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. For further information, visit http://www.ucsf.edu