Summer Research Fellowship
Our competitive Summer Research Fellowship is an immersive research experience for motivated undergraduate students. We invite you to apply in fall.
Research fellowship experience
Our A.C.V. Elston III, MD, Summer Research Fellowship offers a transformative experience on your path to becoming a clinician, scientist or healthcare professional. You’ll find our alumni at competitive medical and graduate schools.
During your fellowship, you’ll join a research team to investigate a clinical topic. An experienced researcher will help hone your research and critical thinking skills. At the end of the summer, you'll present your findings to clinicians and scientists. Our alumni have presented at regional and national conferences and published their findings in peer-reviewed journals.
Beyond research, you can expect:
- Extensive job shadowing at our flagship hospital in La Crosse, Wis.
- Simulation labs at our Integrated Center for Education
- An educational curriculum that includes weekly lectures on manuscript writing, statistics, the graduate/medical school application process, research presentation skills and more
- In-depth interview skills workshops and graduate/medical school mock interview sessions
Eligibility and application
You’re eligible for our fellowship if you’re in your third year of college and hold a 3.2 cumulative grade point average. We’re looking for candidates who intend to pursue advanced degrees or work in the medical and/or biomedical fields.
Apply online in fall and include a cover letter describing why you would be a good fit for our fellowship and how it will benefit your future career. Email a letter of recommendation and your undergraduate transcript to [email protected].
Fellowship experience scope
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15hours of didactic and interview preparation sessions
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6clinical simulation labs
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72hours of clinical job shadowing
Recent research accomplishments
The research conducted by summer fellows improves clinical practices and patient care across Gundersen Health System.
Migraine treatment research
Lily Kowal, 2023 fellow, and headache neurologist Michael Yang, MD, found that patients with chronic migraines receive better treatment when we treat them at an infusion center instead of in the Emergency Department. Their research will change how we care for patients who suffer from migraines.
Mental health research
Jordan De La Hunt, 2023 fellow, and her research team found that Gundersen’s gender clinic improved the mental health of our patients on gender journeys.
Impact of mentorship research
Emily Chopra, 2023 fellow, collaborated with our Nursing Research team to study the impact of a nursing mentorship program in Labor and Delivery. The findings indicate that these programs help reduce burnout and turnover.
Bariatric Surgery research
Devin Bocook, 2023 fellow, collaborated with Afton Koball, PhD, and Kate Mellion, MD, and discovered that patients planning bariatric surgery were more likely to maintain weight loss after surgery if they engaged in moderate to strenuous physical activity before surgery. Their findings show that bariatric patients will benefit from counseling to engage in physical activity before surgery.
Cancer research
Brendon Raabolle, 2023 fellow, investigated the role of a cellular molecule (ARID3B) in regulating cell death in cancer cells. His work will help our ovarian cancer researchers understand the role of ARID3B in cancer biology and it can be used for prognostic and therapeutic purposes.
Publications
The role of food and activity environment in a bariatric surgery population: impact on postoperative weight loss
Koball AM, Rooney BL, Kallies KJ, Wissink DM. The role of food and activity environment in a bariatric surgery population: impact on postoperative weight loss. Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2022 Mar;18(3):365-372. doi: 10.1016/j.soard.2021.12.007. Epub 2021 Dec 11. PMID: 35016840.
Pre-screening for bariatric surgery patients: comparative effectiveness of transnasal endoscopy versus esophagogastroduodenoscopy
DeBoer AM, Mellion KM, Frankki SM, Kallies KJ, Grover BT, Pfeiffer JD, Kothari SN. Pre-screening for bariatric surgery patients: comparative effectiveness of transnasal endoscopy versus esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Surg Endosc. 2021 Aug;35(8):4153-4159. doi: 10.1007/s00464-020-07892-y. Epub 2020 Aug 14. PMID: 32797285.
Vitamin D concentrations in patients with cluster headache: A matched case-control study
Yang M, Arbs B, Swartz K, Kovacs AJ. Vitamin D concentrations in patients with cluster headache: A matched case-control study. Headache. 2023 Sep;63(8):1178-1179. doi: 10.1111/head.14603. Epub 2023 Aug 4. PMID: 37539938.
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