From UH News by Matthew Campbell, 8/23/24
In 2023, six students joined the MHRT program as global travel restrictions were lifted. The John A. Burns School of Medicine’s Minority Health Research Training (MHRT) Program has since seen a rapid increase in interest. This year, 12 students successfully completed the Health Disparities program, which is housed in JABSOM’s Department of Tropical Medicine, Medical Microbiology & Pharmacology.
“During the pandemic, students didn’t travel, and that restriction lasted three years,” says Dr. Angela Sy, MHRT director. “Last year was the first year they traveled, but word wasn’t getting around about the program [because of 3 years of COVID-19 restrictions], so there were only six students [who traveled out of state]. After the students started traveling, word got around again, so I think that’s why we had a lot of applicants this year.”
MRHT is an NIH-funded program that engages undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and graduate students from any discipline in national or international mentored research projects in tropical medicine, infectious diseases, community research, and related health sciences.
The MHRT Program is conducted during one academic year (including Summer) and concludes with students presenting their out of state research in front of friends and family.
Training sites change annually; this year, students spent eight to nine weeks in Thailand, American Samoa, Guam, or Atlanta, Georgia conducting research that impacts the communities where they’re conducting their out-of-state research.
“The students get exposed to the hot topics in their area, and sometimes, like we’re seeing with long covid and Alzheimer’s dementia, it is a global issue,” Sy said.
MHRT places equal importance on the cultural aspects of these regions.
“The hope is that this contextualizes life in the places that they’re working,” Sy said.
Now in its 11th year, MHRT tracking results show the majority of its trainees continue on to graduate school.
“About 25 percent go on to medical school,” Sy said. “A large portion of them continue on to JABSOM. So, every year, almost every incoming JABSOM class has at least one MHRT-trained student. About a third to 50 percent of those who don’t go to medical school go on to get their Masters, and some get their PhDs.”
Applications for the 12th year of MHRT begin in November, with students from any major eligible to apply. Students who are underrepresented in research are eligible. Dr. Sy says that applicants should show interest and motivation, and they undergo an application process that includes written essays and an interview when selecting them. For example students may be asked questions about handling interpersonal communications.
“It’s not just academic; we look for other qualities to build students’ professional development to better succeed in applying for future graduate or professional schools.”
View the photo gallery from MHRT’s 11th E Hoʻoulu Haumana Ceremony.