Research is an integral part of the Department of Surgery.  As a nationally ranked program in surgical research we are strongly committed to mentoring the next generation of surgeon scientists.  Each year we welcome a handful of UC Davis medical students who are interested in gaining research experience in the areas of surgery.  These medical students work on a wide variety of research projects under the guidance of surgery faculty mentors.  Many students have published their work as peer-reviewed articles, manuscripts, and abstracts presented at national meetings.  Each March students have the opportunity to present their research work during the annual UC Davis Medical Student Research Forum commonly referred to as “Poster Day”. This event is an opportunity for medical students from three programs – the Medical Student Research Fellowship, the 4th Year Scholarly Project, and the NIH-sponsored TL1 program – to highlight their work and educate peers and faculty.

Our 2020/2021 Surgery Research Medical Student Participants:  

Kaitlyn Honeychurch (MS2) Pediatric Surgery (Dr. Raff) on "Utility of Routine Head Ultrasounds in Screening for Intracranial Hemorrhage in Infants on Extracorporeal Life Support"

Irina Karashchuk (MS2) Burn Surgery (Dr. Romanowski, Dr. Palmieri, and Dr. Greenhalgh) "Follow Up After Burn Injury Is Disturbingly Low and Linked With Social Factors"

Angelica Martin (MS2) Cardiothroacic Surgery (Dr. Godoy, Dr. Brown and Dr. Cooke) "Research Addressing Racial Health Disparities in Cardiothoracic Surgery Represents Only a Small Fraction of Total Major Meeting Peer-reviewed Content"

Kiran Nagra (MS2) Translational Research & Innovation (Dr. Wang) "The Therapeutic Potential of Placental Mesenchymal Stem Cells and their Exosomes for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases"

Aida Nasirishargh (MS2) Translational Research & Innovation (Dr. Wang)"Exosomal MicroRNAs from Mesenchymal Stem/stromal Cells: Biology and Applications in Neuroprotection"

To learn more, visit the UC Davis School of Medicine, Medical Student Research Fellowship Resource.