To address the
national and local need for morphology educators, The University of New Mexico
School of Medicine has created the Scientist-Educator Fellowship in
Morphological Sciences. The program aims to develop both the basic
science research skills and the pedagogical expertise of individuals who desire
to be biomedical researchers and educators. This program combines high quality
fundamental basic science research with hands-on training in medical education.
Due to the present need for educators with expertise in the morphological
sciences, the program will focus on training individuals in gross anatomy,
microanatomy and embryology instruction.
The program will be open to one highly motivated BSGP graduate student per year. Individuals will be recruited for a three-year combined research and teaching position. At the end of the fellowship period, participants may be eligible for the Certificate in Science Teaching (see: http://hsc.unm.edu/som/research/bsgp/teachingcertprgm.shtml). Throughout the duration of the program, fellows will be immersed in an independent basic science research project under the supervision of a faculty mentor. Fellowship mentors must share the fellows' commitment to the goals of the program, demonstrate a willingness to encourage fellows toward a combined educator/researcher career, and be able to offer a cutting-edge research training program. Individuals in the Scientist-Educator Fellowship are expected to develop outstanding research programs in their mentors' laboratories that will lead to new scientific discoveries and publications in respected journals, both of which will enable fellows to be highly competitive for postdoctoral positions and medical school faculty positions.
Fellowship Program
Year 1:
First-year fellows will enroll as students in the Human, Structure, Function and Development Course. This experience will give the fellows the contextual and factual background essential to the morphological disciplines. Time commitment: 14hr/week for 10 weeks (August 6 – October 12)
Year 2:
In their second-year, fellows serve as laboratory instructors in the Human, Structure, Function and Development course in the Phase I medical curriculum. Each fellow will be assigned a teaching mentor who will provide guidance and share pedagogical approaches for teaching this portion of the course.
Time commitment: 9hr/week for 10 weeks (August 6 – October 12)
Year 3:
In their third and final year, fellows will be expected to participate in the Human, Structure, Function and Development course as either a laboratory instructor or as a co-tutor in the problem-based component of the course. The fellow will also be expected to prepare and deliver one lecture and begin building a portfolio that can be used in their future careers as educators of medical morphology disciplines. Time commitment: 6-12hr/week for 10 weeks (August 6 – October 12)
Fellowship Support
Fellows will be eligible for a BSGP-level teaching assistantship for the second and third years of the program.
Fellows who wish to receive the Certificate in Science Teaching at the end of the fellowship period will be paid a teaching assistantship for teaching during year 2 and course credit for teaching during year 3. For those not wishing to receive the Certificate in Science Teaching, a teaching assistantship will be provided in both years 2 and 3.
Application Process
Interested
applicants should provide a maximum 1 page letter of interest, an updated CV,
and a letter of support from the research mentor by June 1, 2008. Please
send the materials via email to Melissa Nuttall in the Department of Cell
Biology and Physiology(mnuttall@salud.unm.edu).
Applications will be reviewed by members of the Human Structure, Function and
Development Block Committee.
