The Junior Fellows Class of 2012: On the Road to the Health Professions

Over the 2011-12 school year, 81 middle and high school students from nine schools in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens participated in NYAM’s Junior Fellows Program, which is designed to foster the students’ interest in the health professions. The Junior Fellows have spent the school year engaged in seminars and learning to conduct secondary research at NYAM and worked to develop independent research projects on health topics of their choice.

At The Junior Fellows Research Poster Session and Culmination Ceremony on May 3, the students exhibited their research findings at NYAM, sharing skillfully created posters and brochures with an enthusiastic audience of teachers and principals, NYAM staff, and supporters of NYAM’s Office of School Health Programs (OSHP).

Junior Fellow Madina from The James Weldon Johnson Leadership Academy, MS 57 in Manhattan participated in NYAM’s Getting into Real Life Science (G.I.R.L.S.) and  Health Professions program in 7th grade before becoming a Junior Fellow, and said she “can’t wait” to stay involved through the Scholars Program for Junior Fellows alumni. She was excited to learn how to use professional research tools like PubMed, a free electronic database of citations and abstracts maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, which provides a premiere search system for health information, instead of Google. Madina eloquently presented her project on anorexia among African-American girls.

Madina’s classmate Ariana, also a G.I.R.L.S. alumna, echoed her enthusiasm about the research component of the Junior Fellows program, and said she will definitely return to the NYAM Library to do research when she enters high school.

Sahar from Robert H. Goddard Middle School, MS 202 in Queens did her research on stomach cancer, from which her grandmother suffered. She sees The Junior Fellows program as giving her “a start on being a doctor.” She enjoyed the sessions at NYAM, researching on computers, and getting to present her research so people can see her hard work and dedication.

Sahar was so proud of the work of her classmates in the program that in addition to her project brochure, she created a second brochure highlighting the accomplishments of the MS 202 Junior Fellows. Like Sahar, many of her classmates already know that they want to be doctors, and chose to research medical conditions that have afflicted members of their families.

Sitara, who studied Alzheimer’s disease in Down syndrome patients, said she “learned a whole new set of vocabulary I can actually understand now.” Her favorite part of the program was sharing what she learned and learning from the other Junior Fellows.

Ravina studied atrial septal defects, from which her grandfather suffered, and wants to go into cardiology. She cited The Junior Fellows Program as her “first opportunity to explore the medical field,” and enjoyed learning how to do advanced searches.

Nicholas, whose research focused on liver cancer, said he wants to be a surgeon and find a cure for cancer. Through the program, he “learned how to research properly and find credible information.”

Following the poster session, the students were presented with certificates and t-shirts at a culmination ceremony in NYAM’s Library Reading Room.

“You have so inspired me to continue this work,” said Joanne Eichel, Director of the Office of School Health Programs, at the start of the ceremony. “So many of you have said to me, ‘For the first time, I realized I can be a doctor.’”

The competitive and rigorous Junior Fellows Program, Ms. Eichel said, began in 1996 with 25 students, and to date more than 1,200 students have successfully completed the program and gone on to bright futures including science competitions, medical school, and research.

Melissa Mendelson, Project Director for the Junior Fellows Program, detailed the Junior Fellows experience, which includes research, seminars, and interaction with the program’s partnering regional medical centers. She said the program helps students to “enhance their potential for academic and personal success as well as learn about public health, science, research and medical careers.”

Melissa expressed to the Junior Fellows that “Though you arrived here today to celebrate the culmination of your experience as a Junior Fellow, this event also marks the beginning of continued scholarship in the future.” The Junior Fellows alumni, known as Scholars, are members of the NYAM family and will be invited to return to NYAM for future events and learning opportunities.

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Posted on May 11, 2012

Contact:
Andrew J. Martin
Director of Communications
The New York Academy of Medicine
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New York, New York 10029
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amartin@nyam.org

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