Sam Moreno is spending this summer working as a program assistant for the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP).
It’s an interesting inversion for Moreno, a graduate of both SHPEP and UNMC’s Summer Undergraduate Research Program. She is working at UNMC as she prepares her medical school application for 2025.
The former collegiate runner first heard about the SHPEP program during her sophomore year at the University of Tennessee at Martin, where she struggled with some running injuries. Her personal experience with the health care system prompted her to explore health care careers.
“I had a lot of injuries in high school and in college, due to cross country and track,” Moreno said. “I ended up having three different surgeries, and although that was not fun, I discovered that I wanted to pursue medicine.”
Her participation in SHPEP solidified that choice.
“I haven’t had any experience with anyone going through the pre-med journey, so learning more about the application process, getting exposed to medicine, taking different classes to expose you to the pre-med track during SHPEP, that was really helpful.”
A trip to the cadaver lab as part of the program cemented her determination to be a doctor, as did her introduction to Jasmine Marcelin, MD. The associate professor of internal medicine spoke to Moreno’s SHPEP group about her own journey to medical school and later served as Moreno’s Student Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) mentor.
“When I was accepted into SURP for the summer following my junior year, I knew I wanted to work with Dr. Marcelin. Her passion for medicine is inspiring and she makes it relatable.”
From the start, Moreno loved being in Nebraska and at UNMC, which was one of the reasons she applied to return for SURP.
“I love UNMC; everyone’s welcoming, it’s a great school. And when I got accepted to SURP for internal medicine, and I saw Dr. Marcelin was participating, I really wanted to work with her.”
Dr. Marcelin, in turn, said it has been a privilege to serve as Moreno’s mentor and advisor over the last year.
“She is a hard worker with an effervescent personality that makes being on a team with her so rewarding,” Dr. Marcelin said. “She came to me with little experience with research and scholarly writing but a desire to dive deep into all facets of medicine. Her thirst for knowledge was evident as she did background research for our project, and she and her teammate did a phenomenal job with their data collection.”
“She has a manuscript getting ready for publication and a team abstract that was submitted from the project, and we could not have been successful without her. I’ve enjoyed mentoring and coaching her as she makes decisions related to pursuing a career in medicine, and I even got to meet her parents, who are so proud of her.”
Dr Marcelin added that she looks forward to meeting the SHPEP students each summer and sharing her own journey into medicine.
“The students all have so much wonder and excitement as they contemplate their possible futures in health care, but I did not fully realize the impact of these brief interactions until I met Sam Moreno,” she said. “I’m very glad I did, and grateful for this program.”
During SURP, Moreno studied inconsistent participant demographic reporting in published antibiotic clinical trials targeting multi drug-resistant gram-negative organisms.
“It was more epidemiology and public health-oriented research,” Moreno said. “And I realized through this immersion experience that this is the kind of research that I find most meaningful.”
Moreno paused for a moment when asked about the high points of each program.
“They’re very different. The guidance I got in SHPEP led me to confirming my interest in medicine. My lead in SHPEP was a first-year medical student, Laura Ebers, and she talked about the process, applications, the MCAT, what it was like in medical school, what specifically UNMC is like as a medical school, and the different things that you should do as you prepare your application. That was very impactful. The guidance that you get, and the lifelong friendships that you gain, I would say that was the SHPEP highlight.
“For SURP, I really enjoyed the epidemiology/public health research. And Dr. Marcelin. She is amazing. She helped me focus my passion for medicine and direct my research toward public health.”
Back at UNMC now, and working with the SHPEP program, Moreno said she’s also developed a high regard for Sonja Tutsch-Bryant, PhD, who leads the program.
“She puts a lot of hard work into this program, and it’s interesting to see this side of the program, after really enjoying it as a participant.”
Dr. Tutsch-Bryant is impressed with Moreno, as well.
“Sam is incredibly hardworking young lady,” she said. “I am delighted she is serving as a member of our staff this year. I have no doubt Sam will experience great success in med school. I can’t wait to see where life takes her.”
From the insight gained as a result of these programs, Moreno decided to pursue medical school as well. “I plan on applying to UNMC in August of next year,” she said.