Awards

Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students

October 13, 2023

The Endocrine Society offers Research Experiences to support promising medical and graduate students who have demonstrated commitment to endocrine research and expressed interest in enhancing their professional development skills. The Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students (REGMS) program, formerly the Summer Research Fellowship program, includes a comprehensive series of activities that span beyond the summer and include involvement in a variety of engaging programs for early career scientists.

If you are planning, or even considering, a career in endocrine research, become a part of the REGMS program specifically designed to support opportunities for students to participate in collaborative research in global laboratories, receive expert advice from dedicated mentors, build professional networks by connecting with peers and other professionals in the field, and acquire skills that will help advance their academic and professional careers.

Our 2024 application period is now closed.


Nominations

  • Nominations Application Open: October 16, 2023
  • Application Deadline:  January 20, 2024
  • Notification: Nominees will receive a notification regarding applications by February 16, 2024.

For questions contact pd@endocrine.org.

Please Note: Members are eligible to receive one travel award or travel reimbursement per meeting. If you are selected for more than one travel award you will receive the higher monetary value.

Summer Research and Year-Round Experiences

All REGMS awardees will participate in an 8-10-week summer research project in a lab under the guidance of an Endocrine Society member. Students will receive a $2,500 honorarium to help supplement costs incurred during the summer research period.

The REGMS program requires participation in an 8-week summer webinar series, typically Mondays at 12:00 PM ET in July and August. The educational webinars will cover a range of career development topics.

In addition to an invaluable lab experience and career development webinar series, awardees will participate in:

  • Virtual research talks to present their work to peers and mentors;
  • Expanded science education and career development with the opportunity to attend ENDO 2025, our annual meeting, to present their research. Participants will receive a $1500 travel grant to attend the meeting;
  • Career building opportunities to showcase their research in Society publications;
  • Leadership and team building through volunteer and service activities; and
  • The Early Career Forum, our premier workshop for trainees interested in exploring career options, learning how to make smooth career transitions, connecting with experts in endocrine science and practice, and more.

REGMS Recipients

Allison Lehman, BA, BSN
University of Kansas School of Medicine 

Diana Ximena Yrigoyen Rosas, BS
University of Illinois 

Maia Jakubowski, BS
University of Connecticut 

Jack Klahr, BS
Medical College of Wisconsin 

Dominique Cope, BA
Baylor College of Medicine 

Vitoria Simas, MS
Indiana University School of Medicine 

Jotinder Waraich, Btech
University of Calgary 

Audrey Isaak, B.S.A
Baylor College of Medicine 

Iztiba M. Deeba, MS
University of Alabama at Birmingham 

Zezhou Zhao, MS
Harvard Medical School 

Fabiola Lujan, BS
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center 

Sikiru Imodoye, BMLS, MS
University of Utah 

John Kincaid, MS, MPhil
Harvard Medical School  

Evangelos Axarloglou

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
Development of accurate diagnostic and prognostic blood tests for NAFLD/NASH in type II diabetics
Mentor: Dr. Christos Mantzoros

Helen Bell

University of California San Diego
Neural Mechanisms Mediating the Inhibition of Reproductive Function During Metabolic Stress
Mentor: Dr. Kellie Breen Church

Pham Hong Anh Cao

University of Texas Md Anderson Cancer Center
Modulation of intracellular lipid access by ATGL determines ferroptosis sensitivity in prostate cancer
Mentor: Dr. Daniel Frigo

Zena Del Mundo

University of Calif Irvine
Determining the role of pituitary immune cells in gonadotrope hormone secretion
Mentor: Dr. Dequina Nicholas

Alexis Engel

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Insulin Receptor Signaling and Racial Disparities in Triple Negative Breast Cancer
Mentor: Dr. Emily Gallagher

Izabela Magdalena Hawro

University of Illinois Chicago
Does restoration of BHMT levels in hepatocytes of mice with NASH will reduce Hcy, improve methionine metabolism, and enhance the therapeutic effects of TZD on NASH?
Mentor: Jose Cordoba-Chacon

Hannah Heath

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Correlating Exposure to Neighborhood Violence with PRMT6 and Glucocorticoid Receptor Binding to Chromatin in Black Male Lung Cancer Patients
Mentor: Dr. Zeynep Madak-Erdogan

Minseon Jung

University of British Columbia
Effects of Maternal Sucrose Consumption During Pregnancy on Steroids in the Placenta and Fetal Brain of Rats
Mentor: Dr. Kiran K. Soma

Li-Wei Kuo

University of Colorado- Anschutz Medical Campus
Immunesuppressive factors associated with androgen receptor expression in breast cancer
Mentor: Dr. Jennifer Richer

Mark Liang

University of CA - Irvine
Neurobiological and Cognitive Correlates in Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia
Mentor: Dr. Mimi Kim

Casey McAndrews

University of New England
Determination of bone quality following weight loss in obese preclinical models
Mentor: Dr. Cliff Rosen

Nefeli Neamonitaki

Examining the Metabolic Effects of Lactation in Women with Diabetes Risk Factors
Mentor: Dr. Camille E. Powe

Lorenzo Smith

Investigating the pro-tumor potential of therapy-induced senescence in adrenal cancer

Mentor: Dr. Kaitlin Basham

Chinasa Ufondu

University of Minnesota
Estrogen receptor-driven breast tumorigenesis in invasive lobular carcinoma
Mentor: Dr. Julie Ostrander

Marie-Louis Wronski

Massachusetts General Hospital
Associations between oxytocin and arginine-vasopressin levels and food reward and cognitive control neural circuits in female and male adults with obesity
Mentor: Dr. Franziska Plessow

 

Michael Boysen, BS, MS 

University of Colorado School of Medicine 
Training Status: Medical Student 
Research: Interactions between Anti-Estrogens and Radiation Therapy Sensitivity in Invasive Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast 

Mentor: Matthew Sikora, PhD 
University of Colorado School of Medicine 

Stephanie Chinwo  

University of Connecticut School of Medicine 
Training Status: Graduate Student 
Research: Molecular Analysis of AMBRA1 as a Candidate Tumor Suppressor in Sporadic Parathyroid Adenomas 

Mentor: Andrew Arnold, MD  
University of Connecticut School of Medicine 

Nicholas Christakis  

Louisiana State University 
Training Status: Medical Student 
Research: Racial Disparity in Glycemic Outcome During Real World Use of an Advanced Hybrid Closed Loop System (AHCL) Among Youth with Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) 

Mentor: Stuart Chalew, MD 
Louisiana State University 

Wenyuan He  

University of Toronto 
Training Status: Graduate Student 
Research: Discovering novel microRNAs that regulate insulin sensitivity in hypothalamic neurons 

Mentor: Denise D. Belsham, PhD  
University of Toronto  

Jessica Lee 

Loyola University 
Training Status: Medical Student 
Research: Identify the role of PER3 in trophoblast function in regard to pre-eclampsia 

Mentor: Hanne Hoffman 
Loyola University  

Reeya Shah 

University of California - San Diego 
Training Status: Graduate Student 
Research: Investigating potential protective effects of cohousing on metabolic dysregulation with hyperandrogenism mouse model 

Mentor: Varykina Thackray, PhD 
University of California - San Diego  

Julietta Sheng, M.S.

Colorado State University 
Training Status: Graduate Student 
Research: Maternal stress and hypothalamic development 

Mentor: Stuart Tobet, MS,PhD  
Colorado State University  

Macy Thonen 

Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center 
Training Status: Medical Student
Research: The effects of kinase inhibitors on TAp63α induced oocyte apoptosis 

Mentor: Kim So-Youn, PhD 
Univ. of Nebraska Medical Center  

Jin Young Yoo, M.S. 

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 
Training Status: Graduate Student 
Research: Geospatial Analysis to Quantify Spatial Heterogeneity of Liver Metastatic Tumors 

Mentor: Zeynep Madak-Erdogan, PhD 
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 

 

Taylor Baker 

Case Western Reserve University 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Enhancing CDK4/6 inhibitor efficacy by targeting the G2/M cell cycle in tamoxifen-resistant luminal A breast cancer cells 

Mentor: Ruth Keri, PhD 
Case Western Reserve University 

Kathryn Bartholomay Walters

University of Colorado Anschutz 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Determining how MSI2 regulates steroid hormone metabolism to promote aldosterone production 

Mentor: Neelanjan Mukherjee, PhD 
University of Colorado Anschutz 

Shruti Bendre

University of Illinois 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Impact of Macrophage ABCA1 on T cell expansion and Anti-Breast Cancer Activity 

Mentor: Erik Nelson, BSc,PhD 
University of Illinois 

Angie Chen

Northwestern University 
Training Status: Medical Student 
Research: Factors Influencing the Diagnosis and Treatment of PCOS in Adolescents 

Mentor: Laura Torchen, MD 
Northwestern University 

Annapurna Chitnavis

University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix
Research: Coronary Artery Calcium Score in Cohort of Transgender Individuals Undergoing Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy In Phoenix, Arizona

Mentor: Dr. Ricardo Rafael Correa, MD, EdD, FACP, FACE, FAPCR, FACMQ

Ethiopia Getachew

Harvard Medical School
Research:Sex Differences in the Neurobiology of Obesity

Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Austen Lawson, MD, MMSc

Pratyusa Das, MS

Southern Illinois University School of Medicine 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Role of FOXO1 in glucocorticoid-induced somatotrope maturation 

Mentor: Buffy Ellsworth, PhD 
Southern Illinois University School of Medicine 

Ashley Herdman 

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Loss of Leptin Receptors on Gonadotropes: Calcium Imaging 

Mentor: Angela Odle, PhD 
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences 

Steven Hobbs

University of Illinois 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Role of IQGAP1 in BA-mediated liver proliferation 

Mentor: Sayeepriyadarshini Anakk, PhD 
University of Illinois 

Nimisha Nandankar, MS

Rutgers/The State University OF NJ 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Metabolic and Reproductive Characterization of ARC Kiss1 Knockout Mice 

Mentor: Sally Radovick, MD 
Rutgers/The State University OF NJ 

Angela Olvera

University of Wisconsin - Madison 
Training Status: Medical Student 
Research: Elucidate the contribution of Glp-1r to glucose homeostasis and beta-cell mass preservation and proliferation 

Mentor: Dawn Davis, MD,PhD 
University of Wisconsin - Madison 

Parleen Pandher

University of Northern British Columbia 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: Functional consequence of PACAP deficiency on gene expression in stellate ganglia of mice 

Mentor: Sarah Gray, PhD 
University of Northern British Columbia 

Tanya Pierre

University of Alabama at Birmingham 
Training Status: Graduate Student/PhD Student 
Research: A physiological understanding of the Rnf20/40 complex in ß-cell function 

Mentor: Chad Hunter, PhD 
University of Alabama at Birmingham 

Samuel Plaska, MS, OMS-1

University of Michigan 
Training Status: Medical Student 
Research: Characterization of a Novel Mutation in the CLCN2 Gene Leading to Primary Aldosteronism 

Mentor: William Rainey, MS PhD 
University of Michigan 
 

Eligibility Criteria

Student applicants must meet the following requirements at the time of application:

  • Must be an active member in the Endocrine Society for the duration of the program. Join Now or renew your membership for 2024. 
  • Must be a 1st to 3rd year medical or graduate student.
  • Must be enrolled in school full-time and not employed as a research assistant.

Mentors must meet the following requirements at the time of application:

  • Must be active members in the Endocrine Society. Join Now or renew your membership for 2024.
  • Only one application per mentor may be submitted.

Please see Application Requirements page for a full list of requirements.

Downloadable Flyer

quote-icon

I dearly enjoyed REGMS last summer - much of what I learned has impacted me both in and out of research. It has made me think seriously on Endocrinology as a career goal, now going into my third year of medical school.”

Nicholas J Christakis , REGMS 2022 Cohort
Last Updated:
REGMS Experience

Ashley Herdman Describes her REGMS Experience

For medical and graduate students with a keen career interest in endocrine research, the Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students (REGMS) summer program has proven to be a worthy benefit — offering invaluable lab experiences, networking connections, and mentorships that last well beyond the summer months. Endocrine News caught up with one of the 14 REGMS awardees in 2021, Ashley Herdman, to learn more about her experiences.

For medical and graduate students with a keen career interest in endocrine research, the Research Experiences for Graduate and Medical Students (REGMS) summer program has proven to be a worthy benefit — offering invaluable lab experiences, networking connections, and mentorships that last well beyond the summer months. Endocrine News caught up with one of the 14 REGMS awardees in 2021, Ashley Herdman, to learn more about her experiences.

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