Have you ever dreamed of assisting biomedical professionals conduct research in a lab? Have you ever wanted to test the waters of your future careers by helping real doctors perform vital tasks? This summer, three lucky Jesuit students will be able to live that dream through the UT Southwestern STARS summer research program.
On Thursday, March 27, UT Southwestern accepted Dylan Roberts ‘15, Zachary Bishkin ‘15, and Evan Loriot ‘15 into their eight-week summer research program. The STARS (Science Teacher Access to Resources at Southwestern) program began in 1991 as a way for UT Southwestern to improve the quality of education in North Texas. Through the various STARS programs, UT Southwestern has been able to spark careers in the medical field, help support students as well as teachers, and increase scientific knowledge in the North Texas area.
Students participating in the eight-week program will have a chance to gain valuable knowledge and experience through their research. The Students will work alongside a medical professional in a research laboratory. Each student will be paid a stipend and will present the findings of the research at the end of the eight weeks.
Through this program, the students will be able to experience the true importance of the medical field. Mr. Max von Schlehenried, Jesuit Physics Teacher and Medical Society Director, explains the common perception of medical research and says, “Many people see research scientists as being closed off to the rest of the world, spending many hours in the laboratory. They see the profession as not being very social and so many people turn away from it because they desire to interact with people on a daily basis.” He says that this research opportunity will help to shatter that false perception and help students to realize the social and collaborative nature of medical research.
This program will also contribute to the Jesuit mission of being men for others. Mr. von Schlehenried explains, “Every Jesuit school strives for its students to be an active part of bringing justice to the marginalized” and that “research science can sometimes be work that reaches multitudes of marginalized people.” Even if their research doesn’t help to relieve a serious problem for thousands of people, it will still reach people and contribute to future developments that will reach thousands in need.
Each committed student had to pass the competitive application process and demonstrate their desire to participate in the medical field. Mr. von Schlehenried explains how committed the students are this year, adding,“This year’s STARS group have been more active in the Jesuit medical society since their freshman year. Last year we had one or two students who were not guys who had been in the medical society for all three years up to the point of being accepted into the program.” Their commitment and enthusiasm helped them to proceed through waves of interviews, essays, and applications.
Their time researching will be a truly remarkable opportunity. As Mr. von Schlehenried comments, “UT Southwestern Medical School, the institution where these guys will be researching, is not just any old medical school.” The school has five Nobel Laureates and teaches using the most innovative technologies. “In addition,” Mr. von Schlehenried says,” the program directors Dr. Ravnik and Ms. Tam are really visionary people who are helping to change the future of science in the United States by coordinating programs like this.”
The Students were very excited about seeing their hard work pay off in the form of their acceptance into the program. Evan Loriot believes that this summer will help him live according to the Jesuit way: “I feel very excited about it! I’m about to start into what I believe is the beginning of my career in medicine, and that this is a major step in the direction of helping other people, the way St. Ignatius wanted us to.” Evan feels “honored that they would choose [him] from such a wide selection of students” and will become fully emerged in his research to help him in his future of service to the world.
The accepted students recently had a chance to experience a small taste of what is in store for them this summer when they were able to meet their research doctors. Zachary Bishkin met with Dr. Qinghua Liu on Sunday, April 20. After wandering around the UT Southwestern campus for about twenty minutes, he found Dr. Liu’s lab. His experience was positive: “The PhD that I’m working with is Qinghua Liu, and he’s in the biochemistry department, specifically RNA. He has a sense of humor, which is very apparent because he tries to name all his discoveries after Star Wars characters.” After getting to know Dr. Liu, Bishkin learned about his summer research project. Bishkin states, “The project I will be working on has to do with gene silencing. I don’t yet know if there is a Star Wars character involved. Dr. Liu was very personable and interesting, and I look forward to working with him.” This personal meeting set the goals for Bishkin’s exciting summer.
Don’t forget to congratulate these students and Mr. von Schlehenried for their hard work and commitment to the Jesuit Medical Society. These students will be part of a tradition of sending Jesuit students out into the world to serve and represent our school. If you would like to participate in this program next year, make sure to let Mr. von Schlehenried know and to never lose faith. Junior year can prove to be very difficult for many students, but with perseverance and help from the brothers here at Jesuit, you can succeed in following in the footsteps of the great men who have walked through our hallways and into the world.
