Sarah Schloemer Named Howard Hughes Medical Institute Med Into Grad Scholar
Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Sarah Schloemer has been named a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Med Into Grad Scholar. Schloemer is among six Ohio State pre-candidacy graduate students who will be funded for one year to perform research at the interface of basic biomedical science and clinical medicine. Graduates of the program are expected to expedite the clinical application of discoveries in biomedical science to improve human health and to create future successful research partnerships with physicians.
Schloemer, who is advised by a Assistant Professor Robert Siston and works as a University Fellow in Siston’s Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab, will now have the opportunity to also work closely with a clinical mentor and partake in several clinical experiences in the areas of neuroscience and biomedical engineering. Her research will investigate lower extremity neuromuscular function and coordination during gait in individuals with and without osteoarthritis. Her work aims to contribute to improving the treatment of osteoarthritis while also advancing the overall understanding of the complex relationship between the nervous and musculoskeletal systems.
The Ohio State MED into Grad Scholar Program was established to augment the biomedical applications of traditional basic science research programs at The Ohio State University. Combining elements of OSU's Independent Study Program in the College of Medicine, Graduate School, and Center for Clinical and Translational Science, the MED into GRAD Scholars Program will further the training of exceptional pre-candidacy graduate students whose dissertation research is relevant to one of the program's six areas of emphasis in the basic sciences: Biomedical Engineering; Computational Biology; Genetics; Infectious Disease; Neuroscience; and RNA Biology.
As a HHMI Med Into Grad Scholar, Schloemer will receive a one-year stipend support of $30,000; one-year of tuition expenses; individualized preclinical and translational science curriculum; access to resources in the OSU Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences; mentored clinical experiences; appointment of a College of Medicine faculty member on her dissertation committee; scientific networking with faculty, other research trainees and administrators of the College of Medicine; and acquisition of the knowledge and skills necessary to facilitate the translation of new biological knowledge into the tools that will improve human health.
Additional training received through the MED into GRAD Scholars Program will prepare chosen scholars to facilitate the sharing of information between basic scientists and clinicians. It will also increase their understanding of the language, culture, and practice of medicine, and develop the skills needed to form future partnerships and collaborations with physician scientists.
Ohio State is one of 23 academic institutions offering an HHMI Med into Grad Program. The program is partially supported by a grant to Ohio State from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Fellow mechanical engineering graduate student Emily Sequin was named a HHMI Med Into Grad Scholar in 2010.
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