Training
The Medical Student Research Program in Diabetes is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health through the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).
BADERC hosts 5-6 medical students during the summer between their first and second years of medical school to conduct research under the mentorship of an established scientist in diabetes and its complications, obesity, or metabolism based at one of the BADERC member institutions. In addition, students receive research and career mentorship and meet weekly with BADERC leadership at MGH for didactic sessions on research skills and resources and to share their research.
All students travel to Vanderbilt University Medical Center to present their work at a research symposium at the conclusion of the program. Interested candidates are invited to learn more about applying through the central program portal: https://www.vumc.org/niddk/welcome
2024 Alumni
Carolina Battle
University of Puerto Rico
Mentor: Camile Powe
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Luis Bernier-Rivera
Ponce Health Sciences University
Mentors: Jackie Seiglie /
Deborah Wexler
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Angie Kuang
Drexel University
Mentor: Melissa Putman
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Yeran Lee
Loyola University
Mentor: Marie-France Hivert
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Nina Zhu
University of Missouri – Kansas City
Mentor: Dong Kong
BADERC Site: Boston Children’s Hospital
Bishoy Yacoub
Mount Sinai
Mentor: Sara Cromer /
Deborah Wexler
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
2023 Alumni
Joycie Chang
University of Missouri
Mentor: Camille Powe
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Sarah Cho
George Washington University
Mentor: Marie-France Hivert
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Sandhya Murgan
University of Southern California
Mentor: Richa Saxena
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Anirudh Murthy
Stony Brook University
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Kush Patel
Central Michigan University
Mentor: Juan Melero-Martin
BADERC Site: Boston Children’s Hospital
2019 Alumni
Taimy Falcon-Rodriguez
University of San Juan Bautista
Mentor: David Nathan
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Jessica Graham
Wake Forest University
Mentor: Denise Faustman
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Sarah Kang
Tufts University
Mentor: Jose Florez
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Blanche Kuo
Case Western Reserve University
Mentor: Pat D’Amore
BADERC Site: Scheppens Eye Research Institute
Nathaniel Long
Penn State
Mentor: Alexander Soukas
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
2018 Alumni
Yedidya Ben-Avie
New York Medical College
Mentor: Ali Tavakkoli
BADERC Site: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Afua Nti
University of Massachusetts
Mentor: Jonathan Williams
BADERC Site: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Boomer Olsen
Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine
Mentor: Bridget Wagner
BADERC Site: Broad Institute
Francesca Perez
Ponce Health Sciences University
Mentor: David Nathan
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Felicia Perry-Smith
Saint Louis University
Mentor: Jose Florez
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Sebastian Roque
Tufts University
Mentor: Robert Gerszten
BADERC Site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
2017 Alumni
Erica Basque
Eastern Virginia Medical School
Mentor: Enrico Cagliero
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Isabel Lopez
Texas Tech
Mentor: Joseph Arboleda
BADERC Site: Scheppens Eye Research Institute
Emily Masterson
Wake Forest School of Medicine
Mentor: Ali Tavakkoli
BADERC Site: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Sofia Shaikh
Drexel University
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Zachary Solomon
Baylor College of Medicine
Mentor: Barbara Kahn
BADERC Site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Caroline Suresh
New York Medical College
Mentor: Joseph Bonventre
BADERC Site: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Andrea Theodoru
University of Maryland
Mentor: Dennis Brown
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
2016 Alumni
Dylan Bennett
New York Medical College
Mentor: Anders M. Naar
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Andrea Escobar
Loyola University
Mentor: Alexander Soukas
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Lida Estandiary
University of Florida
Mentor: Ali Tavakkoli
BADERC Site: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Taesoo Kim
Creighton University
Mentor: Denise Faustman
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Nabiha Quadri
Saint Louis University
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: MGH
Kathleen Vogel
Tufts University
Mentor: Anastassios Pittas
BADERC Site: Tufts University
2015 Alumni
Lisa Dao
University of California, Riverside
Mentor: Steven Russell
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Hannah Gengelman
Tufts University
Mentor: Yuan-Di Halvorsen
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
William Mosher
New York Medical College
Mentor: Pere Puigserver
BADERC Site: Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Marla Perez
University of Illinois
Mentor: Mason Freeman
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Lauren Shin
Drexel University
Mentor: Brad Lowell
BADERC Site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
David Schuster
Tulane University
Mentor: Jose Florez
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Stephanie Syu
Tulane University
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
2014 Alumni
Melba Beltre
New York Medical College
Mentor: Corinne Welt
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Sophie Leung
Dartmouth College
Mentor: Evan Rosen
BADERC Site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Jay Mottle
Georgetown University
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Kaitlyn Order
Georgetown University
Mentor: Barbara Kahn
BADERC Site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Feenalie Patal
University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Mentor: Neil Ruderman
BADERC Site: Boston University
Pamela Sherwood
Tufts University
Mentor: Anastasios Pittas
BADERC Site: Tufts University
Alejandro Silva
Rutgers University
Mentor: Mary Elizabeth Patti
BADERC Site: Joslin Diabetes Center
2013 Alumni
Sarah Ackroyd
Rochester University
Mentor: Deborah Wexler
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
David Lieberman
Brown University
Mentor: Lee Kaplan
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Fei Song
University of Massachusetts
Mentor: Anthony Rosenzweig
BADERC Site: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Jeffrey Wei
Boston University
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Racquel Wells
University of Massachusetts
Mentor: Lynne Levitsky
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
2012 Alumni
Mitali Agarwal
Florida State University
Mentor: Steven Russell
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Lindsey Fitzgerald
Massachusetts General Hospital
Mentor: James Markmann
BADERC Site: Tufts University
David Lee
Quillen College of Medicine
Mentor: Steven Grinspoon
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Dominique Moniezun
Tulane University
Mentor: Joseph Bonventre
BADERC Site: Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Prriya Patel
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Mentor: Joel Habener
BADERC Site: Massachusetts General Hospital
Last Updated on February 12, 2025