Programs

 

Bachelor of Science / Doctor of Medicine [BS/MD] Program
Through linkages with seven Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)—Alabama A&M University, Fisk University, Grambling State University, Jackson State University, Hampton University, Southern University and A&M College, and Tennessee State University—students majoring in the biological sciences or chemistry who matriculated into these universities are invited to participate in the Summer Enrichment [BS/MD] Program at Meharry Medical College. This year, the program runs from May 21–June 29, 2012. Students are selected by the Site Coordinator at each university based on the students' GPA and the Coordinator's personal knowledge of the students. Students must also be deemed to possess the potential to succeed in the program that results in conditional acceptance into Meharry's School of Medicine.

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Student / Faculty Research Program
Gives first-year Meharry students the opportunity to participate in a collaborative research effort with Meharry faculty, Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance faculty, or a faculty member at another medical school (with prior approval). The student and mentor are encouraged to design research such that an abstract and a manuscript for publication by a peer-reviewed journal will be generated. Each abstract and corresponding poster is displayed and presented at Meharry's Student Research Day held each spring.

Research Faculty Mentors

  • Ayman Al-Hendy, M.D., Ph.D. , Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Twum Ansah, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Neuroscience & Pharmacology
  • Rahn Kennedy Bailey, M.D., Associate Professor & Chair, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Ron Baker, M.D., Assistant Professor, Surgery
  • Gautam Chaudhuri, Ph.D., Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
  • Zhenbang Chen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology
  • Salil K Das, Ph.D., Professor, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology
  • Lemuel Dent, M.D., Interim Chair, Surgery
  • Sakina Eltom, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology
  • Carol Freund-Taylor, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Professional & Medical Education
  • Pandu Gangula, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physiology
  • Sunil Halder, M.D., Assistant Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Robert Levine, M.D., Professor, Family & Community Medicine
  • Thomas Limbird, M.D., Professor, Surgery
  • Sukhbir Mohka, Ph.D., Professor, Neuroscience & Pharmacology
  • Tultul Nayyar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Neuroscience & Pharmacology
  • Stella Nowicki, D.D.S., Professor, Microbiology & Immunology
  • Henry Okafor, M.D., Associate Professor, Internal Medicine
  • Aramandia Ramesh, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology
  • Uma Rao, M.D., Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences
  • Maureen Sanderson, MPH, RD, Ph.D., Professor, Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • LaMonica Stewart, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology
  • Susanne Tropez-Sims, M.D., M.P.H., Joy McCain Professor, Pediatrics
  • Flora A. M. Ukoli, M.D., M.P.H., Professor, Surgery
  • Manuel S. Valenzuela, Ph.D., Professor, Biochemistry and Cancer Biology
  • Fernando Villalta, Ph.D., Professor & Chair, Microbiology & Immunology
  • Richard White, M.D., Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine
  • Steven N. Wolff, M.D., Professor, Internal Medicine
  • Hong Yang, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Physiology

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Preceptorship Program
Each summer, students between the first and second year of medical school are introduced to the provision of health care services at community-based facilities, including private physicians' offices and community health clinics with a significant number of African-American and other under represented minority patients. Students are expected to achieve success in implementing the CVDEMS at various sites. The program also introduces students to Healthy People 2020 as well as health disparity projects. Students will submit a paper outlining their experiences in the program.

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Faculty Development
There are eight components of the formal faculty development program:

  1. Mentoring Activities: Pairs senior African-American faculty with junior African-American faculty.
  2. Small-group Sessions: Provides informal interaction and discussion between junior faculty members, faculty fellows, and others.
  3. Research Experience: Requires participation in on-going, mentored clinical research project; more than 265 projects are available through the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance.
  4. Interdisciplinary Clinical Research Conference: Provides a bi-weekly forum for Meharry clinical investigators to present on-going work to colleagues, discuss research methodology and implementation, and share new research ideas and funding opportunities.
  5. Clinical Research Seminars Series: Presents two research projects each month to clinical and basic science faculty from the School of Medicine and School of Dentistry.
  6. Grant Writing Seminars: Provides junior faculty and faculty fellows in-depth instruction on assembling biomedical research grants. Participants learn about the types of grants, effective preparation of R01 and career development grants, statistical issues in grant preparation, and reviewing grants.
  7. Medical Writing for Clinical Investigators: Instructs clinical investigators on the medical writing skills required when publishing scientific articles in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
  8. African-American Faculty Development Conference: Promotes personal and professional development on a national scale, primarily for African-American faculty from all HBCU Center of Excellence grantees; however, HCOP and other Centers of Excellence are invited and encouraged to attend.

The conference serves the following objectives:

  • Assists participants in identifying their professional development goals
  • Explores the requirements for appointment, promotion, and tenure, with regard to advancement
  • Examines the influence of personal styles on individual effectiveness, team development, group performance, and the management of professionals
  • Identifies and develops personal and professional skills that are pivotal to academic advancement
  • Assists participants in identifying and coping with challenges facing URM faculty
  • Provides an overview of the grant application processes of the NIH and various foundations
  • Identifies the characteristics of award-winning proposals
  • Promotes opportunities for networking among African-American faculty in other medical schools

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Pre-health Advisors
Because Meharry believes in cultivating passion for health care professions as early as possible, the Center of Excellence's Pre-health Advisor Program trains and develops advisors to nurture and encourage premedical students. Equipped with relevant, current information, the advisors help premedical students develop a strategic approach to their time and courses of study. Additionally, advisors receive assistance with writing letters of recommendation, organizing a premedical committee to conduct mock interviews for their students, and writing a committee letter.

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High School Students
The Medical Enrichment and SAT Preparation Program is a six-week summer enrichment program for African-American students who have completed the 10th grade. Participants are selected by committee and must demonstrate an interest in a career in medicine or biological sciences. In addition to experience in ongoing research and clinical exposure, students undergo an intense preparatory course for the SAT, with the goal of qualifying/competitive scores for Meharry's BS/MD program at two partnership institutions, Fisk University and Tennessee State University. Students also receive training and instruction on academic and library skills, computer literacy, African-American health problems, cultural competency, college field trips, and a College Fair.

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