OREF Highlights

OREF sponsored its first Medical Student Summer Orthopaedic Research Fellowship in 2003. This program was developed to encourage medical students with an interest in orthopaedics to identify an investigator of an ongoing orthopaedic research project who is willing to accept the student as a research assistant and to act as the student's mentor. OREF provides salary support for the student, payable directly to the institution while reimbursing the institution for FICA taxes of up to $200 at the end of the program.

Medical Students have assisted projects such as researching Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) to understand why fractures do not heal properly and investigating techniques that eliminate tissue grafts to improve means of treating ACL injuries. Since this program began two years ago, OREF has awarded 22 Medical Student Summer Orthopaedic Research Fellowships totaling $55,000.

RETURN TO OREF HIGHLIGHTS

"I had the opportunity to work with a brilliant physician scientist and role model in a way that only strengthened my desire to enter orthopaedics. It was also a great opportunity to improve my research skills by acting in an independent role in a small laboratory that may not have been able to provide me with funding otherwise."

Duretti T. Fufa
2003 Medical Student Summer Orthopaedic Fellowship Recipient