Burns-Waugh Research Fellowship

The Burns-Waugh Research Fellowship has been established and is funded by Fighting Cancer Below the Belt to develop physician-scientists beginning early in their training. Below the Belt will provide a $3000 fellowship to an outstanding MS1 student to work with Dr. Victoria Bae-Jump for the summer. This stipend is an award to cover living expenses. The Burns-Waugh Research Fellow will be exposed to a wide range of cellular and molecular techniques, including working with established cancer cell lines, genetically engineered mouse ovarian and endometrial cancer mouse models and human tumor specimens. Research, however, is not always aimed at a cure. Oncology clinic and operating room experience will give the fellow an understanding of the medical and surgical treatments, as well as the importance of the patient perspective in fighting cancer. Additionally, the fellow will attend several lectures and lunch talks given by UNC faculty about academic medicine, turn in a written summary of their work, and prepare a poster presentation. Academic elective credit is available if all requirements are met. No research proposal or experience is required though a willingness to learn is a must and an interest in gynecologic malignancies is a plus.

Requirements

To be considered for this opportunity, students must be actively enrolled in medical school during the time of this fellowship and have completed their MS1 year. Academic credit (6 hours) must be approved and is not granted automatically. All applying students must be in good academic standing and be prepared to work 40 hrs/week for a minimum of 8 weeks over the summer. The Fellow must attend a course in ethics and oral presentation skills and bi-monthly research luncheons with UNC faculty if these are offered during the summer. The Fellow will submit an abstract and summary of their work and are expected to participate in the John B. Graham Student Research Society’s Student Research Day in the January following their research summer.

Application

All parts of the application must be submitted together. Please attach the Application for the Burns-Waugh Research Fellowship as a cover document and include:

• An essay that answers the following question (no more than 1 page, 12pt font): Why did you decide to pursue this fellowship and what do you hope to gain from this experience in terms of your short and long-term goals?
• A letter of support from a UNC faculty member.
• A copy of your current CV.

The student’s signature on the fellowship application authorizes the selection committee to query the Office of Student Affairs regarding the student’s academic standing. To ensure that this experience does not jeopardize a student’s ability to successfully complete medical school course work, students must be in good academic standing. When accepting this fellowship, students who are receiving academic credit must complete an evaluation of the experience as well as all eligibility requirements.

Contact

Questions and concerns please contact: Eli Tate at eli_tate@med.unc.edu.

Application submissions are to be sent to:

Victoria Bae-Jump, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of North Carolina
Division of Gynecologic Oncology
CB# 7572, Physicians Office Building Rm# B105
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
phone: 919-843-4899
fax: 919-843-5387
email: vbae@unch.unc.edu