The Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation is accepting applications for its 2019 Sir Alexander Fleming Scholar Program. Application deadline is Feb. 1.
The eight-week summer program allows the state’s top science students to enhance their research skills by gaining hands-on experience in a lab setting alongside world-class scientists.
High school seniors, as well as college freshmen, sophomores and juniors, are eligible to apply. Students must be 16 or older to qualify. Students must be Oklahoma residents at the time of high school graduation to be eligible. Once selected, Fleming Scholars are paid and may be eligible for housing.
The application process includes submission of a long-form essay, letters of recommendation and academic transcripts.
“This is a chance to experience research in way a classroom can’t emulate,” said OMRF Human Resources Specialist Heather Hebert, who coordinates the summer program. “Students benefit tremendously from this experience, and our scientists also see meaningful contributions from their work in the lab.”
The program is named for Nobel Prize-winning scientist Sir Alexander Fleming, who discovered penicillin and also dedicated OMRF’s first building in 1949.
Since the inception of the program in 1956, nearly 600 Oklahoma students have had the opportunity to work in state-of-the-art labs at OMRF. Two current OMRF vice presidents, Rodger McEver, M.D., and Judith James, M.D., Ph.D., started their research careers as Fleming Scholars.
“This program provides a unique look at research and has helped plant the seeds for many successful careers in science, medicine and beyond,” said OMRF President Stephen Prescott, M.D. “It’s truly a one-of-a-kind experience and a rare opportunity at this stage in a student’s academic journey.”
For application information, visit omrf.org/fleming.
