Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Endowed Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship
Important Dates and Information
Program Dates: May 17 - July 23, 2027
Application Deadline: January 15, 2027
Acceptance Notice: February 28, 2027 (Tentative)
About the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Endowed Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship Program
All Heritage College students who will successfully complete the Year 1 medical school curriculum by the end of the spring semester immediately preceding the summer Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Endowed Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship (Fellowship) program are invited to apply. Students must be in good academic and professional standing, with no Code of Professional Standards violations on record. Students from all three Heritage College campuses are encouraged to apply.
Under the guidance of the research mentor, students conduct intensive short-term (10-week) research projects in selected areas of biomedical/basic, social-behavioral medicine, primary care, medical education, or clinical investigation. Students will participate in a core curriculum consisting of seminars on broad topics in medical research. They will complete an oral and/or poster presentation describing their research, to be presented in person on the Athens campus during the last week of the summer program.
The objectives of the Fellowship program are to provide a valuable experience for highly motivated and talented medical students to participate in a defined research project; to acquaint students with scientific methodology; to enhance their analytic and laboratory skills; and to provide an opportunity to improve their presentation and writing skills. The program provides foundational skills for future physicians to use scientific evidence as a basis in their clinical decision making and to consider the possibility of pursing research as physician-scientists dedicated to enhancing health care.
The fellowship pays $3,000 to assist fellows with living expenses.
Students are expected to review the current program guidelines carefully as they contain very important information and details related to the program. Students must submit proposals according to the current program guidelines in order to be considered for funding.
Questions?
For additional information, please contact:
The Heritage College Office of Research and Grants, Nadine Borovicka, program manager, or Jessica Wingett, director of research administration and student research and Fellowship program director
Osteopathic Heritage Foundation Endowed Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship Class of 2026
| Student Name | Project Title | Primary Mentor |
|---|---|---|
| William Beegan | Assessing University Students’ Understanding of Hypoglycemia and Glucagon Administration | Elizabeth Beverly, PhD |
| Colin Bennington | Where is APOJ in the Mouse Model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy? | Cory Baumann, PhD |
| James Birong | APOJ Does Not Influence Strength Loss or Recovery Following Injury | Cory Baumann, PhD |
| Jennifer Domfe | Analysis of B-cell Subsets in the Mouse ID8 Ovarian Cancer Model | Fabian Benencia, PhD |
| Aaron Fernando | Exploring Occupational Stress, Emotional Demands, and Trauma-Informed Care Practices Among Rural Southeast Ohio Behavioral and Primary Healthcare Clinicians | Dawn Graham, PhD |
| Eli Haun | APOA4 Regulation of Lipid Metabolism Through Vagal LRP1 Sympathetic Signaling | Chunmin Lo, PhD |
| Adeel Koshal | Developing a Modality to Treat Obesity-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction | Vishwajeet Puri, PhD |
| Xuan Anh Le | AAV-Mediated FSP27 Gene Delivery to Skeletal Muscle Improves Neurocognition in Obese Mice | Vishwajeet Puri, PhD |
| Ci Lee | Evaluating PD1 Expression in Mouse Models of Growth Hormone (GH) Excess and Deficit | Shigeru Okada, PhD |
| Katelyn Messner | Treating Hip Osteoarthritis Through Balanced Growth Hormone Excess and Antagonism in Mice | Shouan Zu, PhD |
| Pareena Patel | AAV-Mediated Skeletal Muscle Delivery of Fat-specific Protein 27 (FSP27) Improves Hyperglycemia in Obese Mice | Bijinu Balakrishnan, PhD |
| Ryan Steere | Characterizing Bacterial Toxins and RNAs: Bioluminescent Staphylococcus aureus and a New Technology | Ronan Carroll, PhD |
| Reece Trowbridge | Improving Motor Learning Ability in Obese Mice by a Novel Skeletal Muscle-Specific Gene Therapy | Bijinu Balakrishnan, PhD |
| Stephen Wilberger | Gene Therapy to Improve Obesity-Induced Muscle Dysfunction | Vishwajeet Puri, PhD |