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BIDDEFORD, Maine

14 medical students interested in geriatrics are awarded 2009 research and practice fellowships

The University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine's Department of Geriatric Medicine announced that 14 COM students interested in geriatrics have been awarded 2009 research and practice fellowships.

The fellowships include: American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR) Medical Student Training in Aging Research (MSTAR), Betty Ford Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS), Rehabilitation Research Experience for Medical Students (RREMS), Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA), as well as Pettapiece and the College of Osteopathic Medicine Dean's Research funding to support geriatrics research in Boston and Washington state.

Three students participated in the COM Learning By Living Research Program.

Fellowships

COM has a strong track record in attaining the highly prestigious and competitive AFAR  (American Federation for Aging Research) Fellowships. To date, UNECOM has the highest submission and funding rate for AFAR applications of any osteopathic medical school in the nation (19 applications, 12 funded fellowships since 2003).

This summer Katie Harmoney, MS I, is conducting research at Massachusetts General Hospital under the leadership of Andrew J. Billings, M.D., director, Palliative Care Service; and Katie Dodd, MS I, is conducting research at the University of Massachusetts Medical School with Jerry Gurwitz, M.D., chief of the Division of Geriatric Medicine and professor of medicine, family medicine, and community health.

Xin Li, MS I, is the first COM student to be awarded the Rehabilitation Research Experience for Medical Students (RREMS) Fellowship. Her onsite research advisor is Jonathan Bean, M.D., medical director, Spaulding Cambridge Rehabilitation Center; director, Research Training and Education, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School; director, Research Center for Lifelong Health and Fitness; and assistant professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School.  Li is conducting research on falls reduction and rehabilitation for older adults.

Mathew Dietz, MS I, is the second COM student to be awarded the Institute for Research, Education and Training in Addictions (IRETA) Fellowship. This is a three-week fellowship located in Pittsburgh, Penn., that combines medical practice and research skill development.

Pettapiece Funding

Pettapiece funding was awarded to Corrie Anderson, MS I, who is conducting six weeks of research on delirium with the mentorship of Edward Marcantonio, M.D., director of research in the Department of General Medicine and Primary Care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Nicholas Madaffer, MS I, was awarded funding by Pettapiece and the University of Washington Medical Center to conduct research on the phenomenology of pain with Alex Cahana, M.D., professor and chief of the Department of Anesthesiology & Pain at the University of Washington Medical Center, Seattle, Wa.

Margo Rockwell, MS I, attained the COM Dean's Research Fellowship and is conducting research with Marian T. Hannan, D.Sc., MPH, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School and co-director of musculoskeletal research at the Institute for Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife in Boston Mass.; and Stephanie Bissonnette, MS I, is conducting eight weeks of research in the Amyloid Research and Training Program at Connors Lab, Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Mass.

Two students were awarded the Betty Ford Summer Institute for Medical Students (SIMS) Fellowship in California: Kristen Murphy, MS I, and Kristin Hughes-Stropnicky, MS I.  Lauren Prusnofsky, MS I, was chosen as an alternate and may yet be chosen. Students participate in one extremely intense week with either the patients or families who have been affected by substance abuse.

Learning by Living Project

In addition, three students were lead researchers in the COM Learning by Living Project, a program that provides a unique ethnographic perspective that enables UNE students to live the life of an elder nursing home resident for two weeks. David Ladley, MS I, resided at the Life Care Center of Nashoba Valley, in Littleton, Mass., Victoria Johnson, MS I, resided at The Highlands in Fitchburg, Mass., and Kristen Murphy, MS I, resided at The Sarah Neuman Center for Healthcare & Rehabilitation in Mamaroneck, N.Y. 

Marilyn R. Gugliucci, Ph.D., Director of Geriatrics Education and Research is the home site research sponsor and/or mentor for these students.

Department of Geriatric Medicine

The COM Department of Geriatric Medicine, chaired by Bruce Bates, D.O., currently interim COM dean and vice president for health services, was created in March 2009. It has been charged with advancing geriatrics through trans-university initiatives, undergraduate and graduate opportunities in education and research, and further expansion of geriatric health services through University Health Care.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.