For
the fifth year, MUSC pre-doctoral students have hit an academic grand
slam by winning the most competitive grants awarded by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH).
The National Research Service Awards (NRSA), which are the coveted
grants that promising pre-doctoral students seek to win from NIH, were
awarded to 12 of MUSC’s Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)
students. Three candidates are awaiting word from NIH on whether they
also have won
NRSA grants.
Winning an NRSA fellowship not only helps underwrite a portion of one’s
pre-doctoral education and training, but also signifies a very high
potential for a successful scientific career, said Perry Halushka,
M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies and director of
MSTP. The students also receive a $1,500 bonus for each year that they
have the award, which may be up to five years.
“These awards demonstrate that we have outstanding students and mentors
who are nationally competitive,” Halushka said. “In fact, our students’
success rate in winning these awards is better than twice the national
average success rate.”
Applying for the award includes three components that students must
submit; a research grant proposal, a training plan, and three letters
of recommendation. A panel of experts from various NIH institutes
reviews the applications.
At MUSC, the incentive to compete for the fellowships is not only
monetary. “We require all of our MD/PhD students to compete for the
NRSA, and we strongly encourage the graduate students to compete for
the grants,” Halushka said. “We prepare them for the process. All
students take a grant-writing course at the end of their first year of
graduate school.
“For the past 10 years, to my knowledge, only one student has failed to
succeed in getting an NRSA,” Halushka added. “Our success rate during
the last several years has been 75 percent, whereas nationally, the
success rate is 30 percent.”
The current NRSA awardees are: Timothy Whitfield (Ph.D. student);
Mildred Embree, Gabrielle Cannick (both from the Dental Medicine
Scientist Training Program); and from the Medical Scientists Training
Program: Amena Smith, Loretta Hoover (also an MUSC Women’s Scholar),
Thomas Mullen, Armina Wiggins, Andre Eaddy, Juan Varela, Mark Hallman,
Chris Gault and Joseph Palatinus.
MUSC currently has 59 MSTP students enrolled. During the past five
years, 14 students have received their own individual NRSA grants,
according to Halushka.
“Considering the size of our graduate school, this is a considerable
accomplishment and we can be very proud of our students and faculty,”
he said.
Friday, Jan. 23, 2009
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