Cardiovascular Research Training Opportunities for Undergraduate Students – Summer 2024
The Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCVR) in the Abigail Wexner Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital conducts innovative, mechanistic-based research to improve therapies and outcomes for infants and children with heart diseases and promote cardiovascular health in children and adults.
Undergraduate students enrolled in colleges and universities across the country interested in exploring careers in medicine, biomedical research and bioengineering in a cutting-edge research environment can experience and support CCVR research firsthand during a 10-week, paid summer research opportunity on the AWRI campus.
The application portal will open in November 2023, please check back at that time.
American Heart Association (AHA) Institutional Award for Undergraduate Student Training (IAUST)
Cardiovascular disease the leading cause of death in the United States. Attracting students to careers in science, particularly in education and research, is essential to the future of cardiovascular research to improve the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
To encourage students from all disciplines to consider research careers, the American Heart Association (AHA) has awarded the Abigail Wexner Research Institute (AWRI) at Nationwide Children’s Hospital a three-year, $120,000 training grant to fund meaningful research experiences for undergraduate college students that support the AHA mission.
Duration: 10 weeks; 40 hours per week
Number of positions available: 5
Trainee Stipend/Salary: $6000
Awardees will have the opportunity to explore five multidisciplinary areas of cardiovascular research: cardiac and vascular development, molecular genetics and genomics, cardiovascular stem cell biology, and tissue engineering. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend/participate in a scientific conference with a faculty mentor.
- Applicants must be currently enrolled as undergraduate students who will have junior or senior academic status during the program.
- Students must be in good academic standing with a GPA ≥ 3.0.
- At the time of application, students must be United States citizens or foreign nationals holding a student, exchange or permanent resident visa, including an F1, H1, H1B, J1, PR, TC or TN visa. Awardees must meet American Heart Association citizenship criteria throughout the duration of the award.
View the full eligibility and application requirements. ›
We are deeply committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse group of trainees and employees that reflects our patient population and community, with a focus on candidates who are Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM). Students who are economically disadvantaged, disabled and/or part of a group or community that is Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) are strongly encouraged to apply.
2023 IAUST Undergraduate Fellows
Bao (Haedi) Ngoc Dinh
- Kenyon College
- Mentor: Brenda Lilly, PhD
- Project: Utilizing patient-derived iPSCs to study cardiovascular defects of Alagille Syndrome
Anne Fang
- University of Florida
- Mentor: Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD
- Project: Modeling Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome using 3D Cardiac Organoids
Sarah Greskovich
- The Ohio State University
- Mentor: Vidu Garg, MD
- Project: Gene-Environment Interactions Underlie Maternal Diabetes Associated Congenital Heart Defects
Raghav Ramachandiran
- The Ohio State University
- Mentor: Christopher K. Breuer, MD
- Project: Investigating the role of neutrophils in LYST-mediated TEVG stenosis
Lucas Williams
- The Ohio State University
- Mentor: Aaron J. Trask, PhD
- Project: Mapping Diabetes Reduces the Number of Fenestrae in the Internal Elastic Lamina of Coronary Resistance Microvessels
2022 IAUST Undergraduate Fellows
Mark Altawil
- Case Western Reserve University
- Mentor: Brenda Lilly, PhD
- Project: Mapping ISL-1-Cre Expression in the Lung Vasculature
Michael Boutros
- The Ohio State University
- Mentor: Vidu Garg, MD
- Project: Characterization of Aortopathy in the Notch1 Haploinsufficient Murine Model
Ivianis Nieves Carril
- University of Puerto Rico Mayaguez Campus
- Mentor: Vidu Garg, MD
- Project: Effect of Maternal Diabetes on Notch signaling and Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Cardiac Development
Nick Gajarski
- Bates College
- Mentor: Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD
- Project: A 3D Bioprinted Embryonic Heart Tube Model using Human iPSC-derived Cardiomyocytes to Study HLHS
Michael Jimenez
- Miami University
- Mentor: Christopher K. Breuer, MD
- Project: Narrowing of Inferior Diaphragmatic Vena Cava in Sheep
Lynn Moreira
- University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus
- Mentor: Kim L. McBride, MD, MS
- Project: Investigating the role of ion channel KCNJ2 in Bicuspid Aortic Valve disease
Mark Naguib
- Purdue University
- Mentor: Christopher K. Breuer, MD
- Project: Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP) as a Biomarker in Sheep: Comparing Naïve to surgically Intervened
Logan Spiess
- Kenyon University
- Mentor: Christopher K. Breuer, MD
- Project: “Anti-platelet treatment has potential to replace TEVG bone marrow seeding in mouse model”
Nationwide Children’s and AWRI support the discovery of new knowledge and its translation into novel therapeutics and diagnostic tests to advance pediatric care. Mentoring, training and educating the next generation of scientists is a vital part of that mission.