Summertime is ideal for exploring possible life paths. For undergraduate students joining Mayo’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, the experience is sometimes the first step toward a career in biomedical research and medicine. As of June, the 2023 class of SURF students — 164 undergraduates who were selected from more than 1,800 applicants — are beginning projects in research labs on Mayo’s campuses in Arizona, Florida and Minnesota.
Former SURF student Eran Maina (pictured with his mother) spent time doing research in the Mayo Clinic cancer lab of Evette Radisky, Ph.D., and made a discovery that opened a new avenue in ovarian cancer research.
The program was pivotal in former SURF student Eran Maina’s quest to become a physician-scientist. His goal took shape following his mother’s treatment for breast cancer at Mayo Clinic in Florida. “Fortunately, my mom is doing very well today,” Maina says. “Her experiences at Mayo Clinic are what inspired me to become more interested in biomedical research and also medicine.”
Read the rest of the article on the Discovery’s Edge blog.
____________________________________________
Other Mayo Clinic medical research websites:
