May 20, 2009

Student Research Day: A salute to students

One of the final and most formidable obligations Yale School of Medicine students must fulfill before graduation is the completion of a thesis based on original research.

On May 12, the school saluted that effort with Student Research Day, an annual event held to give graduating students a chance to showcase the fruit of their labor at a scientific poster session. Held this year in the Anlyan Center lobby, the event featured the work of M.D., EPH and Ph.D. soon-to-be graduates. A total of 70 posters covering an eclectic range of topics from stem cell research and physician-assisted dying to resident weight gain during clinical training were displayed.

Dr. John N. Forrest, director of the Office of Student Research, said the exercise teaches students how to think scientifically. “When you take ownership of a project the way these students are required to do, something exciting happens,” he said.

Forrest said about 40 percent of this year’s projects were laboratory based, and 50 percent were clinically based. The other 10 percent were focused on medical humanities and international health.

—Jennifer Kaylin

Photos by John Curtis

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