University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Logo University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
College of Medicine: For Medical Students

M1 Summer Programs and Research Opportunities

June – August 2025

  1. Anesthesiology: (Clinical)
  2. Cancer Research 
    • Program: Partnership in Cancer Research
    • Description:  Provide M1 students and innovative hands-on cancer research experience in a laboratory, clinical, or community setting.  The program features research, entrepreneurship, clinical simulations, team learning, and innovative mentors.
    • Contact:  Diane McKinstry, dmckinstry@uams.edu 501-526-6515
    • Dates:  June 2 – July 25, 2025, must commit to eight weeks (full-time, 40 hours/week)
    • Compensation: $6000
    • Application Deadline: Feb. 28, 2025  Mentor selection due April 14, 2025
      Application link
  3. ENT (Clinical)
    • Program: “A Summer Clerkship in ENT” (ASCENT) Program
    • Description: It is a four-week program for students who have completed their first year of medical school and is modeled after the M4 ENT elective with clinical rotations and shadowing at UAMS and ACH. In addition to clinical ENT experience, students are paired with an Otolaryngology faculty mentor with whom they will start a research project and learn more about the academic aspect of ENT. Students are required to give a short presentation on the ENT topic of their choice at the end of the four-week program.
    • Contact: Dr. John Dornhoffer, Ms. Deanne KingTiming: June 2-27, 2025: four-week program for students who completed their first year of medical school
    • Paid: N/A
    • Number students: 3 total/year
    • Application Deadline: February 25, 2025, selections & notifications will go out in early March. Apply at https://redcap.link/ASCENT_2023
  4. ENT (Research)
    • Program: Informal Research and Mentorship
    • Description: ENT faculty consistently will take students outside the Honors Program for clinical research opportunities. Students may also attend their summer research meetings 
    • Contact: Dr. John Dornhoffer, Ms. Deanne King
    • Timing: Variable
    • Paid: None
    • Application Deadline: none
  5. Family Medicine – Camp Counselor
    • Program: MASH Assistantship
    • Description: 2- week day-camp counselor, assisting in hands-on activities with high school students interested in health professions; over 30 camp locations around the state. 
      https://regionalcampuses.uams.edu/students/programs/m1-medical-students/ 
    • Contact: Ms. Ursula Redmon
    • Timing: 2-week experience in June or July
    • Paid: Yes, $250/week  
    • Application deadline: Opens: January 27, 2025; Closes: March 1, 2025
    • Number of students: 10
  6. Family Medicine – Clinical
    • Program: Summer Clinical Preceptorship 
    • Description:  Clinical education experience with a community-based Family Physician at multiple locations in Arkansas https://regionalcampuses.uams.edu/students/programs/m1-medical-students/
    • Contact: Dr. Leslie Stone and Ms. LaDonna Walton
    • Timing: June/July
    • Paid: $250/week (2-4 week experiences)
    • Application Deadline: January 27, 2025; Closes: March 1, 2025
  7. Family Medicine – Research
    • Program: Summer Research in Community Medicine
    • Description: Research opportunity in Community Medicine contributing to implementation science projects to increase delivery of evidence-based interventions in community settings  
    • Contact: Taren Swindle, Ph.D.
    • Timing: Summer, variable
    • Paid: Depending on grant funding, but possible
    • Application Deadline: March 1, 2025
  8. Family Medicine – Service
    • Program:  Summer Service-Learning Project
    • Description:  Partner with a UAMS Main Campus or Regional Campus to complete a service learning project. https://regionalcampuses.uams.edu/students/programs/m1-medical-students/
    • Contact: Dr. Leslie Stone and Ms. LaDonna Walton
    • Timing: June 2, 2025-July 25, 2025
    • Paid: Yes, $1000 total for a  four-week project
    • Application Deadline: January 27, 2025; Closes: March 1, 2025
    • Number of students: 10
  9. Geriatrics (Research)
    • Program: Geriatrics Summer Research Program
    • Description: The Geriatrics Summer program offers a variety of opportunities to students that range from basic science research to translational and clinical research. The program evaluates and matches the students with their research interests to specific on-going projects under the mentorship of senior investigators at the Reynolds Institute on Aging. Major areas of research emphasis at the Reynolds Institute on Aging include: molecular biology of mechanisms of aging, clinical research in cardiovascular health and aging, sarcopenia, Alzheimer’s disease, delirium and the study of nonagenarians and centenarians. There are also community-based research opportunities on opioid use in older adults, caregiver stress and dementias. Basic projects involve cellular stress and mitochondrial function in cell cultures and transgenic or knock-out mouse models of aging. Students will receive mentorship in hypothesis generation, research design and methodology, laboratory techniques and manuscript writing skills. Creativity will be encouraged, and students will be supported to test an innovative hypothesis related to aging under supervision of their research mentor. During summer, students will be required to work 5 days a week at the Reynolds Institute on Aging and will be required to attend laboratory meetings. Will work in collaboration with a group of investigators and post-docs, fellows and with the clinical research associate. Students should be able to write an abstract based on their work for presentation at conferences. Students engaged in projects will receive co-authorship on the resultant paper(s).
    • Contact: Dr. Gohar Azhar (azhargohar@uams.edu)
    • Timing: approx. June – September, tentative and flexible depending on students’ schedules. 
    • Paid: Yes. Students will receive a stipend for summer and beyond depending on potential and interest
    • Application Deadline: February 28, 2025
    • Number of students: maximum 3 
  10. OB/GYN (Clinical) – updated 2/11/25
    • Program: Summer bootcamp for rising M2s
    • Description: two-week glimpse into the field of Ob/Gyn. Two students will be selected to be a part of this experience. One week will focus on obstetrics with time spent on Labor & Delivery and in our OB outpatient clinic. The other week will be devoted to both in and outpatient gynecology. If you are interested, please send a 500-word maximum essay on why you are interested in the field of OB/GYN.  
    • Contact: Dr. Lettie Odum, LAOdum@uams.edu
    • Timing: 6/2/25–6/13/25
    • Paid: N/A
    • Application Deadline: March 1, 2025
    • Number of students: 2-4 depending on interest
  11. Pathology (Clinical) – updated 2/13/25
    • Program: Medical Student Clinical Preceptorship
    • Description: five-week rotating experience through five major subspecialty areas in pathology
    • Contact: Dr. Vijay Patel, vmpatel@uams.edu
    • Timing: June/July
    • Paid: $1,000 stipend
    • Application Deadline: 2/21/2025
    • Interested students should send an email with a paragraph about themselves and why they are interested in this program
    • Number of students: 4
  12. Pediatrics (Honors Track)
    • Program: Honors in Pediatrics
    • Description: For students who are interested in pediatrics, this program works with you to complete a scholarly research project in pediatrics. A stipend is provided to those accepted to the program with the expectation of focusing on research during the summer between your M1 and M2 years. Prior to graduation you are asked to present this work at a regional/national conference. Registration and travel expenses are paid for by the program. Throughout the remainder of medical school, you will also be asked to participate in pediatric clinical education opportunities and shadowing. Students who complete the program will have the distinction of “Honors in Pediatrics” listed on their diploma at graduation.
    • Contact: Dr. Becky Latch – LatchRebeccaL@uams.edu or Dr. Carla Brown – CBROWN@uams.edu
    • Timing: Five week program, scheduled around students’ availability
    • Paid: Stipend varied
    • Number of Students: varies
  13. Radiology (Clinical)
    • Program: Summer in Radiology ProgramDescription: This is a six-week summer program that allows you to shadow radiologists at UAMS and at Arkansas Children’s, to learn more about this intriguing specialty and explore whether this may be a future option for you.
    • Contact: Dr. Roopa Ram
    • Timing: June 1-July 15, 2024
    • Paid: N/A
    • Application deadline: March 30, 2024
    • Number of students: 4 students
  14. Radiology (Research)
    • Program: Radiology Research Opportunities
    • Description: Summer and continuing research opportunities in Radiology. You would need to email a short resume and your interest in Radiology
    • Contact: Dr. Hanna Jensen (hkjensen@uams.edu)
    • Timing: Anytime while enrolled as student
    • Paid: N/A
    • Application Deadline: Students are enrolled on a continuous basis
    • Number of students: varies
  15. Research Program (Honors Track)
    • Program: Honors in Research
    • Description: A formal research program that includes research in the summer between the M1 and M2 year, with some continuing activities later in medical school. The Honors in Research Program consists of a research project requiring an equivalent of six months research, preparation of a report in manuscript form in a style suitable for submission to a peer review journal, and presentation/participation at the COM 3MT and/or Student Research Day. Students who complete the program have “Honors in Research” on their diploma at graduation.  
    • Contact: Dr. Robert McGehee REM@uams.edu/ Jimie Jarry, jarryjimieM@uams.edu
    • Timing: summer-long
    • Paid: stipend variable
    • Application Deadline: March 7, 2025/Must submit mentor name by May 2, 2024
    • Number of students: varies
  16. Summer in Surgery – updated 2/11/25
    • Program: Summer in Surgery
    • Description: The program allows medical students the opportunity to 
      • gain clinical experience by shadowing surgeons, participating in clinic visits and ward rounds, and scrubbing in on cases and procedures in the operating room and other setting;
      • participate in educational and simulation sessions
      • produce scholarship and gain research experience by participating in a research project with a faculty or resident mentor.  Students rotate on two surgical services in Trauma, Breast, Burn, Colorectal, Emergency General, Endocrine, General, Oncologic, Pediatric, Pediatric Cardiothoracic, Plastic, Thoracic, Transplant, and/or Vascular Surgery during the program.
    • Video
    • Contact:  Dr. Katie Kimbrough (MKKimbrough@uams.edu) and Ryan Tyler (STyler@uams.edu)
    • Timing: four weeks after the freshmen year
    • Paid: No
    • Application Deadline: February 28, 2025 at 9:00 a.m.
    • Summer in Surgery application (PDF download)
    • Number of students: varies
  17. TRI Translational Research Innovations and Partners (TRIP) Program – added 2/20/25
    TRI, in partnership with the Honors in Research (HIR) Programs, is now accepting applications for the Translational Research Innovations and Partners (TRIP) Program! This summer program offers first- and second-year medical and pharmacy students the chance to earn HIR designation at graduation. Participants will engage in a full-time (40 hours/week) community-based or rural research project over eight weeks during a 10-week summer period.
    Contact: Paul Deguid, MPH (PDuguid@uams.edu) and Adam Kleinerman, MPS (AKleinerman@uams.edu)
    Timing: May 29 – Aug. 8, 2025
    Paid: $6,000
    Application Deadline: March 3, 2025
    Apply online
    Number of Students: 8
  18. T32 Translational Training in Addiction (Research) – Updated 2/20/25
    Program: Psychiatric Summer Internship in Addiction Research
    Description: Intern positions for rising M1 students are available on the T32 training grant. The link below describes the slots from last summer and will be different next summer. You can find a list of potential summer mentors and research projects at the link below.
    http://addictiont32.uams.edu/training-in-addiction/summer-intern-positions/
    Contact: Bill Fantegrossi, Ph.D., (WEFantegrossi@uams.edu) and Melissa Zielinski, Ph.D., (MJZielinski@uams.edu)
    Timing: 6/2-8/8/25
    Paid: a stipend of approximately $5,000 for the 8-10 week program
    Application Deadline: March 15, 2025 
    NIDA-T32_Medical Student Application (Word document download)
    Number of students: 4