Gold Student Summer Fellowships

The Gold Student Summer Fellowship program offers opportunities for medical students to undertake a research or service project related to community health and to develop skills to become a compassionate, relationship-centered physician.

We have selected 13 medical students as the 2023 Gold Student Summer Fellows. Read about the announcement.

Hear 2022 Gold Student Summer Fellows share about their projects through the The Gold Connection Podcast 

Maylis Basturk, a medical student at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, designed a community needs assessment to develop self-management workshops for justice-involved individuals experiencing type II diabetes and hypertension. She partnered with Homeboy Industries and leaders from the Los Angeles County Department of Health. Listen here.
Mollie Marr, a medical student in the Medical Scientist Training Program at the Oregon Health & Sciences University School of Medicine, shares about her project through which she created and piloted a vast array of resources for youth in acute care settings. Listen here.
University of Central College of Medicine medical students Etta Conteh, Yamilet Gonzalez, and Hannah Wilson share about M.E.D.S. (Medical Enrichment for Diverse Students), an innovative Orlando-based student-led mentoring program that addresses a growing need for diverse healthcare workers through pivotal educational opportunities for students with socioeconomic disadvantages. Listen here.
University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine medical student Abbygale Willging explores the use of traditional remedies by patients in the Riobamba, Ecuador, community, who presented to the Emergency Department after experiencing a health-related emergency. Listen here.
University of Vermont medical students Lindsay Aldrich and Richard Vuong share about their experience developing a mobile health vehicle to bring postpartum care to mothers in rural Vermont. Listen here.
Rush University medical student Johanna Balas integrated a virtual reality-based curriculum into the training of certified nursing assistants who offer memory care and long-term skilled nursing services for older adults with illnesses including dementia or cognitive impairment. Listen here.

About the Gold Student Summer Fellowship Program

Gold Student Summer Fellowships:

  • improve the health and lives of traditionally underserved populations
  • focus on understanding and/or enhancing culturally competent care
  • encourage collegial and interprofessional teamwork
  • are designed and implemented by students
  • promote a lasting or systemic change

The grant award includes a stipend for a single project of up to $4,000 for a 10-week period.

Read about the 2023 Gold Student Summer Fellows.

The Gold Foundation champions humanism in healthcare, which we define as compassionate, collaborative, and scientifically excellent care. Grantees are expected to reflect these values in daily practice and to continuously strive to be exemplars of humanism in healthcare.

Contact Michelle Sloane at msloane@gold-foundation.org with questions. For more information about the Gold Foundation programs or their status, please contact Director of Program Initiatives Louisa Tvito at ltvito@gold-foundation.org.