Research at Cummings School

Summer Research Training Program

The Student Summer Research Program at Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine provides veterinary students with an opportunity to perform mentored research over the summer months within the context of a structured educational framework, thereby introducing them to career options based in biomedical science.

Important Dates:

Application Due: February 7, 2022
Finalized Mentor Assignments: March 7, 2022
Summer Research Program: May 31st to August 19th
Boehringer Conference: August 4-7, 2022 (University of Minnesota)

About:

First- and second-year veterinary students in good academic standing are eligible to participate in the program.
Activities include training in responsible conduct of research, formulating a hypothesis/experimental plan, ensuring rigor and reproducibility of data, and critical review of the literature.
Opportunities will be available to participate in organized field trips to visit unique facilities including the New England Regional Biocontainment Laboratory, the Division of Comparative Medicine at MIT, biomedical research entities, and contract research organizations.
Students are required to participate in the weekly Summer Research Seminar Series featuring veterinarians actively engaged in biomedical research across academic centers and the biotechnology sector.
Following program completion, students will submit a final written report summarizing their findings and contribute to manuscript preparation and editing with their mentors.
All students participate in the Annual Research Day at Cummings School where they showcase their research findings through poster presentations.

Summer Research Application Due Feb. 7th

Research Opportunities

Infectious Disease and Global Health

Comparative pathology
Conservation medicine
Cryptosporidium parvum
Global Health
Influenza
International Veterinary Medicine
Lyme disease
Microbiome in health and disease
Mycobacterium tuberculosis
SARS-CoV-2
Schistosomiasis
Therapeutic biomolecules
Wildlife medicine
Zoonotic disease

Department of Comparative Pathobiology

Addiction
Neurobiology
Reproductive health/contraception
Transgenerational opioid effects/epigenetics

Department of Clinical Sciences

Animal Behavior
Antimicrobial Stewardship
Cardiovascular disease
Comparative and Translational Oncology
Dermatology
Diagnostic Imaging
Emergency Medicine/Trauma
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine (asthma/airway disease, endocrine)
Equine orthopedics/sports medicine
Hemostasis/Coagulation
Human-Animal Interaction
Liver Disease
Nephropathy/Urology
Neurology
Nutrition
Ophthalmology
Pain Medicine
Radiology
Respiratory Disease
Shelter Medicine
Small animal orthopedics
Soft Tissue Surgery
Zoological/Exotic Companion Medicine

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Infectious disease / virology / HIV pathogenesis
Immunology / platelet immunology
Bacteriology / Microbiome / Helicobacter
Anesthesia & Analgesia
Animal model refinement
Neuroscience / Cognition
Cancer biology

Other Resources:

https://vet.tufts.edu/research/student-research-training-programs/

Stipends and Responsibilities

Each awardee will receive $6,654 over the summer, divided up into 3 equal payments. This stipend may be supplemented by other sources if the awarding agency does not provide the full amount. Students will receive payments at the end of June, July and August.
Awardees are required to work full time and participate in required research-related activities (journal club, seminars, etc.) and scheduled seminars/field trips.
Each awardee will be required to submit one copy of a written report plus an electronic copy to trena.haroutunian@tufts.edu<mailto:trena.haroutunian@tufts.edu> that summarizes their research findings. The written report should conform to the styles of a scientific journal of choice and be constructed in partnership with their mentor.
Awardees funded by the NIH and Boehringer will be required to present a poster on the NVSS/AAVMC Conference August 4-6, 2022.
All awardees will be required to present their work at Research Day scheduled in October 2022, on Grafton Campus (final date to be determined).
The program of the Research Day includes poster presentations by DVM students, graduate students and house officers/residents. Participants will provide a 5-minute overview of their work in front of their poster to a select panel of judges, with 5 minutes allotted for questions. Awards for best poster presentation will be given in the following categories for DVM students in the summer program: Basic Research, Clinical Research, International/Conservation Medicine. Awards will also be given for best poster presentation in the Graduate Student and House Officer/Resident categories.

For further information please visit the Summer Research Training Program page

Mentors

Success of the program depends on active participation by mentors in all phases of the training process. A mentor is likely to provide the best possible training if the student is involved in mentor's area of active research. With these in mind, the following guidelines are recommended.

A mentor should provide supervision during all phases of the proposed study including:
- project design
- submission of relevant funding applications (i.e, MAF)
- obtaining necessary approvals
- data generation/conduct of experiments
- data analysis
- preparation of the written report
- poster/oral presentation at NVSS (if relevant)
- poster presentation at Research Day
To optimize/maximize student-mentor interactions during the training period a maximum of two students can be sponsored by a single mentor each summer.
The mentor should support projects that fall within their area of active areas of research. If a proposed project requires additional expertise, a co-mentor should be sought out to ensure that adequate project input is provided.
With few exceptions, the program does not provide funds for supplies needed to conduct the research project. Thus, the mentor should ensure availability of all necessary resources.
Mentors should encourage their students to present findings at a national scientific meeting. The program will try to provide some limited funds to cover registration fees for such meetings.
If work completed by the student is published, please acknowledge how the student was supported and send notification of the publication to the Program Director.
Mentors must assist students with poster preparation and attend the Annual Research Day event to support their trainees.

Contact

For further information, or to submit program documents, please contact the program directors:

Dr. Cheryl London, DVM, PhD, DACVIM (Oncology)
Research Professor
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
Anne Engen and Dusty Professorship in Comparative Oncology
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01534
Cheryl.London@tufts.edu

Trena Haroutunian
Administrative Coordinator
Department of Research
Office of Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education
Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University
200 Westboro Road
North Grafton, MA 01536
508.839.8788
trena.haroutunian@tufts.edu

Summer Research Training Program Awards

See 2021 Summer Research Training Programs Awards here.