Two neuroscience students, Baraa Hijaz and Benjamin Borg, were accepted into the Surgery Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) summer program. Although Hijaz had research experience since he started his freshman year, he explained the SURE program aims to guide students aspiring to be physician scientists through the career process and provides an innumerable amount of opportunities for the students. While working on his own project, he was allotted times to shadow top tier surgeons and surgeon scientists, attend seminars ranging from GRE prep to research career development, and present at regional conferences and the UAB Summer Expo. Because his current trajectory is to aim at attaining a MD/PhD or pursuing a post doctoral fellowship after medical school/residency, he felt that this program was a perfect fit.
He said one of the main benefits of the program was the independence he was able to experience.
"I believe that in order for a student that is new to science to truly excel, some degree of independence is necessary. After I received my initial training and learned most of the necessary techniques and experiments by my mentor, it was up to me to plan and execute the remainder of my experiments for my project. Dauntingly, this required me to read more literature and learn new things by trial and error. Doing so, however, led to a greater understanding of the overarching objective and the specificities of every experiment I conducted, ultimately allowing me to learn more and exceed my own expectations," Hijaz said.
Outside of research, he was able to make new friends with other summer students, including medical students, residents, and undergraduate students from different institutions. One of the students taught him better ways to cook and meal prep,
and was also his new gym buddy!
"My mentor, Dr. Herbert Chen, took the lab to Trident Marina at Smith Lake, one of the cleanest lakes in the United States. There I learned to jet ski, water board, and surf!" (Pictured below)
He began writing his statement of interest around late December before the February application deadline. If you are interested in exploring similar opportunities, this is what he has to say:
Contributed by Baraa Hijaz
Edited by Isabella Mak
"I would mainly advise that students understand why they would like to pursue research. These programs are largely centered on students who are truly passionate about the investigative effort and hope to one day make a difference in the world through their endeavors in science. You will enjoy every second you spend at the bench if you are truly impassioned about the difference you’re making by conducing research. Keep your grades up, stay active on campus, and pursue your passions; this will take you a long way."
Baraa Hijaz is a sophomore in the neuroscience program, in the Science and Technology Honors program, and a research ambassador at the Office of Undergraduate Research. You can reach him at bhijaz@uab.edu.
https://www.uab.edu/medicine/surgery/SUREEdited by Isabella Mak
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