Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students
October 13, 2023
The Endocrine Society offers Research Experiences to support promising medical and graduate students who have demonstrated commitment to endocrine research and expressed interest in enhancing their professional development skills. The Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students (REGMS) program, formerly the Summer Research Fellowship program, includes a comprehensive series of activities that span beyond the summer and include involvement in a variety of engaging programs for early career scientists.
If you are planning, or even considering, a career in endocrine research, become a part of the REGMS program specifically designed to support opportunities for students to participate in collaborative research in global laboratories, receive expert advice from dedicated mentors, build professional networks by connecting with peers and other professionals in the field, and acquire skills that will help advance their academic and professional careers.
Our 2024 application period is now closed.
Nominations
Nominations Application Open: October 16, 2023
Application Deadline: January 20, 2024
Notification: Nominees will receive a notification regarding applications by February 16, 2024.
Please Note: Members are eligible to receive one travel award or travel reimbursement per meeting. If you are selected for more than one travel award you will receive the higher monetary value.
Summer Research and Year-Round Experiences
All REGMS awardees will participate in an 8-10-week summer research project in a lab under the guidance of an Endocrine Society member. Students will receive a $2,500 honorarium to help supplement costs incurred during the summer research period.
The REGMS program requires participation in an 8-week summer webinar series, typically Mondays at 12:00 PM ET in July and August. The educational webinars will cover a range of career development topics.
In addition to an invaluable lab experience and career development webinar series, awardees will participate in:
Virtual research talks to present their work to peers and mentors;
Expanded science education and career development with the opportunity to attend ENDO 2025, our annual meeting, to present their research. Participants will receive a $1500 travel grant to attend the meeting;
Career building opportunities to showcase their research in Society publications;
Leadership and team building through volunteer and service activities; and
The Early Career Forum, our premier workshop for trainees interested in exploring career options, learning how to make smooth career transitions, connecting with experts in endocrine science and practice, and more.
REGMS Recipients
Allison Lehman, BA, BSN
University of Kansas School of Medicine
Diana Ximena Yrigoyen Rosas, BS University of Illinois
Maia Jakubowski, BS University of Connecticut
Jack Klahr, BS Medical College of Wisconsin
Dominique Cope, BA Baylor College of Medicine
Vitoria Simas, MS Indiana University School of Medicine
Jotinder Waraich, Btech University of Calgary
Audrey Isaak, B.S.A Baylor College of Medicine
Iztiba M. Deeba, MS University of Alabama at Birmingham
Zezhou Zhao, MS Harvard Medical School
Fabiola Lujan, BS University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Sikiru Imodoye, BMLS, MS University of Utah
John Kincaid, MS, MPhil Harvard Medical School
EvangelosAxarloglou
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Development of accurate diagnostic and prognostic blood tests for NAFLD/NASH in type II diabetics Mentor:Dr. Christos Mantzoros
HelenBell
University of California San Diego Neural Mechanisms Mediating the Inhibition of Reproductive Function During Metabolic Stress Mentor: Dr. Kellie Breen Church
Pham Hong AnhCao
University of Texas Md Anderson Cancer Center Modulation of intracellular lipid access by ATGL determines ferroptosis sensitivity in prostate cancer Mentor:Dr. Daniel Frigo
ZenaDel Mundo
University of Calif Irvine Determining the role of pituitary immune cells in gonadotrope hormone secretion Mentor:Dr. Dequina Nicholas
AlexisEngel
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Insulin Receptor Signaling and Racial Disparities in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Mentor: Dr. Emily Gallagher
Izabela MagdalenaHawro
University of Illinois Chicago Does restoration of BHMT levels in hepatocytes of mice with NASH will reduce Hcy, improve methionine metabolism, and enhance the therapeutic effects of TZD on NASH? Mentor:Jose Cordoba-Chacon
HannahHeath
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Correlating Exposure to Neighborhood Violence with PRMT6 and Glucocorticoid Receptor Binding to Chromatin in Black Male Lung Cancer Patients Mentor: Dr. Zeynep Madak-Erdogan
MinseonJung
University of British Columbia Effects of Maternal Sucrose Consumption During Pregnancy on Steroids in the Placenta and Fetal Brain of Rats Mentor:Dr. Kiran K. Soma
Li-WeiKuo
University of Colorado- Anschutz Medical Campus Immunesuppressive factors associated with androgen receptor expression in breast cancer Mentor:Dr. Jennifer Richer
MarkLiang
University of CA - Irvine Neurobiological and Cognitive Correlates in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia Mentor:Dr. Mimi Kim
CaseyMcAndrews
University of New England Determination of bone quality following weight loss in obese preclinical models Mentor:Dr. Cliff Rosen
Nefeli Neamonitaki
Examining the Metabolic Effects of Lactation in Women with Diabetes Risk Factors Mentor: Dr. Camille E. Powe
Lorenzo Smith
Investigating the pro-tumor potential of therapy-induced senescence in adrenal cancer
Mentor:Dr. Kaitlin Basham
Chinasa Ufondu
University of Minnesota Estrogen receptor-driven breast tumorigenesis in invasive lobular carcinoma Mentor:Dr. Julie Ostrander
Marie-Louis Wronski
Massachusetts General Hospital Associations between oxytocin and arginine-vasopressin levels and food reward and cognitive control neural circuits in female and male adults with obesity Mentor:Dr. Franziska Plessow
Michael Boysen, BS, MS
University of Colorado School of Medicine Training Status: Medical Student Research: Interactions between Anti-Estrogens and Radiation Therapy Sensitivity in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast
Mentor: Matthew Sikora, PhD
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Stephanie Chinwo
University of Connecticut School of Medicine Training Status: Graduate Student Research: Molecular Analysis of AMBRA1 as a Candidate Tumor Suppressor in Sporadic Parathyroid Adenomas
Mentor: Andrew Arnold, MD
University of Connecticut School of Medicine
Nicholas Christakis
Louisiana State University Training Status: Medical Student Research: Racial Disparity in Glycemic Outcome During Real World Use of an Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop System (AHCL) Among Youth with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D)
Mentor: Stuart Chalew, MD
Louisiana State University
Wenyuan He
University of Toronto Training Status: Graduate Student Research: Discovering novel microRNAs that regulate insulin sensitivity in hypothalamic neurons
Mentor: Denise D. Belsham, PhD
University of Toronto
Jessica Lee
Loyola University Training Status: Medical Student Research: Identify the role of PER3 in trophoblast function in regard to pre-eclampsia
Mentor: Hanne Hoffman
Loyola University
Reeya Shah
University of California - San Diego Training Status: Graduate Student Research: Investigating potential protective effects of cohousing on metabolic dysregulation with hyperandrogenism mouse model
Mentor: Varykina Thackray, PhD
University of California - San Diego
Julietta Sheng, M.S.
Colorado State University Training Status: Graduate Student Research: Maternal stress and hypothalamic development
Mentor: Stuart Tobet, MS,PhD
Colorado State University
Macy Thonen
Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center Training Status: Medical Student Research: The effects of kinase inhibitors on TAp63α induced oocyte apoptosis
Mentor: Kim So-Youn, PhD
Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center
Jin Young Yoo, M.S.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Training Status: Graduate Student Research: Geospatial Analysis to Quantify Spatial Heterogeneity of Liver Metastatic Tumors
Mentor: Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, PhD
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Taylor Baker
Case Western Reserve University Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Enhancing CDK4/6 inhibitor efficacy by targeting the G2/M cell cycle in tamoxifen-resistant luminal A breast cancer cells
Mentor: Ruth Keri, PhD
Case Western Reserve University
Kathryn Bartholomay Walters
University of Colorado Anschutz Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Determining how MSI2 regulates steroid hormone metabolism to promote aldosterone production
Mentor: Neelanjan Mukherjee, PhD University of Colorado Anschutz
Shruti Bendre
University of Illinois Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research:Impact of Macrophage ABCA1 on T cell expansion and Anti-Breast Cancer Activity
Mentor: Erik Nelson, BSc,PhD
University of Illinois
Angie Chen
Northwestern University Training Status: Medical Student Research: Factors Influencing the Diagnosis and Treatment of PCOS in Adolescents
Mentor: Laura Torchen, MD
Northwestern University
Annapurna Chitnavis
University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix Research: Coronary Artery Calcium Score in Cohort of Transgender Individuals Undergoing Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy In Phoenix, Arizona
Mentor: Dr. Ricardo Rafael Correa, MD, EdD, FACP, FACE, FAPCR, FACMQ
Ethiopia Getachew
Harvard Medical School Research:Sex Differences in the Neurobiology of Obesity
Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Austen Lawson, MD, MMSc
Pratyusa Das, MS
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Role of FOXO1 in glucocorticoid-induced somatotrope maturation
Mentor: Buffy Ellsworth, PhD
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Ashley Herdman
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Loss of Leptin Receptors on Gonadotropes: Calcium Imaging
Mentor: Angela Odle, PhD
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Steven Hobbs
University of Illinois Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Role of IQGAP1 in BA-mediated liver proliferation
Mentor: Sayeepriyadarshini Anakk, PhD
University of Illinois
Nimisha Nandankar, MS
Rutgers/The State University OF NJ Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Metabolic and Reproductive Characterization of ARC Kiss1 Knockout Mice
Mentor: Sally Radovick, MD
Rutgers/The State University OF NJ
Angela Olvera
University of Wisconsin - Madison Training Status: Medical Student Research: Elucidate the contribution of Glp-1r to glucose homeostasis and beta-cell mass preservation and proliferation
Mentor: Dawn Davis, MD,PhD
University of Wisconsin - Madison
Parleen Pandher
University of Northern British Columbia Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: Functional consequence of PACAP deficiency on gene expression in stellate ganglia of mice
Mentor: Sarah Gray, PhD
University of Northern British Columbia
Tanya Pierre
University of Alabama at Birmingham Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student Research: A physiological understanding of the Rnf20/40 complex in ß-cell function
Mentor: Chad Hunter, PhD
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Samuel Plaska, MS, OMS-1
University of Michigan Training Status: Medical Student Research: Characterization of a Novel Mutation in the CLCN2 Gene Leading to Primary Aldosteronism
Mentor: William Rainey, MS PhD
University of Michigan
Eligibility Criteria
Student applicants must meet the following requirements at the time of application:
Must be an active member in the Endocrine Society for the duration of the program. Join Now or renew your membership for 2024.
Must be a 1st to 3rd year medical or graduate student.
Must be enrolled in school full-time and not employed as a research assistant.
Mentors must meet the following requirements at the time of application:
I dearly enjoyed REGMS last summer - much of what I learned has impacted me both in and out of research. It has made me think seriously on Endocrinology as a career goal, now going into my third year of medical school.”
For medical and graduate students with a keen career interest in endocrine research, the Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students (REGMS) summer program has proven to be a worthy benefit — offering invaluable lab experiences, networking connections, and mentorships that last well beyond the summer months. Endocrine News caught up with one of the 14 REGMS awardees in 2021, Ashley Herdman, to learn more about her experiences.
For medical and graduate students with a keen career interest in endocrine research, the Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students (REGMS) summer program has proven to be a worthy benefit — offering invaluable lab experiences, networking connections, and mentorships that last well beyond the summer months. Endocrine News caught up with one of the 14 REGMS awardees in 2021, Ashley Herdman, to learn more about her experiences.
