Real-Life Learning

Summer Student Research Program helps undergrads — like Anna Ung — gain useful real-world experience in the medical field (photo courtesy Hawai‘i Pacific Health).

Each summer, as college students break for the beaches or travels, a select group of students shadow mentors, gaining real-world experience in the medical field. Established in 1986, the Hawai‘i Pacific Health Summer Student Research Program (SSRP) provides undergraduates with the opportunity to participate in a clinical research study and medical curriculum organized by HPH.

“(It) was a really unique opportunity for me because it was my first experience with clinical research,” says Anna Ung, a recent SSRP participant who has just been selected to JABSOM.

“Prior to SSRP, I had only been involved in basic sciences laboratories where I primarily performed benchwork with mice or microorganisms. Therefore, the transition from conducting research at a microscopic level to analyzing data of actual patients was really exciting for me.”

Participants are paired with a Principal Investigator (PI) and his or her clinical research project. The eight-week program varies for each student depending on the project they’re assigned to. For instance, Ung worked on a study that investigated any connections between abnormal maternal serum analytes and third trimester intrauterine growth restrictions.

In addition to clinical research, research scholars participate in informal “Careers in Medicine” talks with physicians, tour HPH facilities and other hospitals, and help to organize a community service event, “Healthy Living,” that’s presented at Lanakila Multi-Purpose Senior Center.

A 2003 alum of the program Dr. Jared Oyama, worked with general surgeon Dr. John Balfour. They looked at the outcomes of Balfour’s gastric bypass surgeries.

“As a premedical student, it can be challenging to find truly meaningful experiences in medicine,” says Oyama, who is now an interventional cardiologist and serves as the medical director of Straub’s cardiac catheterization laboratory.

To date, more than 300 students have participated in SSRP, which is funded
by lead donors Barry M. and Virginia S. Weinman and D. Suehiro Electric, Inc. A high percentage of participants has gone on to medical/research programs at institutions nationwide.

For more information, visit hawaiipacifichealth.org.