Dr. Satcher’s visit captured for recruiting video

Iona Rone with her mentor, Jing Ma, Ph.D., scientist, Munroe-Meyer Institute Hattie B. Munroe Center for Human Molecular Genetics.

Dr. David Satcher’s unexpected visit to campus last week was a celebrity moment for UNMC’s 2003 minority summer research interns and a priceless video opportunity to inspire future interns.

For the past two weeks, camera crews have visited the labs of five minority summer interns, taping interviews and gathering footage of the interns working on their research projects. Now, producers will be able to add footage of the former U.S. Surgeon General chatting with UNMC’s minority summer interns.

Only in its second year, UNMC’s Summer Minority Summer Undergraduate Research Internship Program already has expanded from seven students in 2002 to 15 students this year.

Even more important, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provided most of the necessary funds — Nebraska EPSCoR (National Science Foundation) also provided some funding — to provide round-trip transportation to UNMC, and housing for two consecutive summer sessions of 12-weeks each. There are 20 different institutes within the NIH, and 10 of them have provided funds for these students.

Aaron Ochoa with his poster at the annual Summer Interns Research Poster Presentation.

UNMC’s track record for using these funds is so solid that, as the number of the interns complete their two-year commitments this summer, there is every confidence that seven to 10 new interns will be successfully recruited for next year.

The minority internship recruiting video will feature interns Sadari Fisher (Dillard University), Aaron Ochoa (St. Mary’s University), Michel Kwarteng (Stanford University), Kristie Phillips (Fort Lewis College), Sara Janis (Lakota Community College), and faculty mentors, Jennifer Larsen, M.D., Degan Professor, department of internal medicine; Robert Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor, Eppley Institute; Lucile Wrenshall, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor, department of surgery; Howard Gendelman, M.D., David T. Purtilo Professor, department of pathology/microbiology; and Jamboor Vishnawatha, Ph.D., professor, department of biochemistry and molecular biology.

“It’s our expectation that students who see this video will want to be a part of our program, learn about the variety of health care and research opportunities available to them and become the health care professionals and researchers of the future,” said Mary McNamee, Ph.D., associate director, Office of Student Equity and Multicultural Affairs.