A Baltimore program is working to increase diversity in a medical field underrepresented by minorities. Friday was the last day for a group of interns enrolled in a special program through the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center. participated in practical lab experience through a special internship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine funded by the American Cancer Society. The aim is to increase diversity in the field of biomedical science. “If you look at the general population, it’s very diverse, but we don’t see that same diversity in the biomedical field,” said Tonya Webb, Ph.D., assistant director for diversity, equity, and inclusion at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “That’s what we want. We want to encourage diversity so we can come up with better solutions and this program offers opportunities to do that.” Eight students from universities across the country were selected for the 11-week paid internship during which she spent the summer in the lab, working with mentors, conducting cancer research and more. “Others are working on genomics. Some are working on infections that infect babies,” Webb said. Rising senior Danielle Jones conducted research into preventing tooth decay. “So, we’ve looked at bacteria and metabolites and plaque. It’s been a wide variety of things,” Jones said. Trinity Soto, a senior at Towson University, said the internship was her first time working in a lab like this. She said it changed her entire career path. “I used to only want to study medicine and get my MD, but now I’m looking at an MD/Ph.D. because research seems very exciting. I like the atmosphere,” says Soto. The goal for next summer is to increase the number of students and extend the duration of the internship to attract more young people into the field.
A Baltimore program is working to increase diversity in a medical field underrepresented by minorities.
Friday was the last day for a group of interns enrolled in a special program through the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Cancer Center.
The interns gained hands-on lab experience through a special internship at the University of Maryland School of Medicine funded by the American Cancer Society. The aim is to increase diversity in the field of biomedical science.
“If you look at the general population is very diverse, but we don’t see that same diversity in the biomedical field,” said Tonya Webb, Ph.D., deputy director for diversity, equality, and inclusion at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. . “That’s what we want. We want to encourage diversity so that we can come up with better solutions and this program offers opportunities to do that.”
Eight students from universities across the country were selected for the 11-week paid internship that included spending the summer in the lab, working with mentors, doing cancer research and more.
“Others are working on genomics. Some are working on infections that infect infants,” Webb said.
Rising senior Danielle Jones conducted research into the prevention of tooth decay.
“So we’ve looked at bacteria and metabolites and plaque. It’s been a wide variety of things,” Jones said.
Trinity Soto, a senior at Towson University, said the internship was her first time working in a lab like this. She said it changed her entire career path.
“I used to only want to study medicine and get my MD, but now I’m looking at an MD/Ph.D. because research seems very exciting. I like the atmosphere,” Soto said.
The goal for next summer is to increase the number of students and the duration of the internship in order to attract more young people into the field.
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