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Student Information

Student Application Deadline:
COB: Monday, May 4, 2026

Note: Applications submitted for review does not require signatures. Signatures are required when accepted to participate in the program. Students applying to multiple projects should submit separate applications for each project.

Program Start date:
Monday, June 1, 2026

2026 Application and Program Guidelines

Research Home

Application Process

  • This is a competitive program with a limited number of stipend funded projects. Students are required to complete an application, attach a copy current CV and include a brief statement indicating any prior research experience and state how it relates to the current project.  Completed applications should be emailed to Ms. Samantha Amorino: sa3037@njms.rutgers.edu and copy Ms. Andreca Frater: af734@njms.rutgers.edu. The documents will be forwarded to the Faculty Mentor for review. If the student has met the qualifications for the project he/she will be contacted by the Faculty Mentor to schedule an interview. This process could take 2-3 weeks for completion. Students are encouraged to call or email Faculty Mentor if they have any questions relating to current projects.

    NOTE: Stipend support is available for a limited number of research projects. Stipend support is also reserved for incoming 1st, and rising 2nd year medical students. Undergraduate students in the combined BS/MD program may participate as a volunteer or thru work-study while fulfilling their credit requirements.

    • All students are required to submit an abstract summarizing their research and present their abstract/poster during the SSRP Closing Ceremony.
    • Students must be in good academic standing to participate.
    • Projects are to be carried out during an eight-week period in which the students must not have any other academic activities. Students cannot participate in this program while actively involved in another full-time program at the New Jersey Medical School.

NJMS OFFICE OF RESEARCH 2026 SSRP PROJECTS

Students approved to work on funded projects will receive a stipend in the amount of $3,500
(no additional projects outside of current postings will be accepted)

  FILLED FACULTY MENTOR DEPARTMENT PROJECT TITLE PROJECT TYPE  
1      Nisha Narula, MD Surgery Surgical Ergonomics Clinical Funded
2      Nisha Narula, MD Surgery Billing Data in Symptomatic Cholelithiasis Clinical Funded
3      Ethan Cowan, MD, MS Emergency Medicine Doxy-PEP: Emergency Department Patients' Perspectives on Doxycycline Post-Exposure Prophylaxis Behavioral Funded
4      Cherisse Berry, MD FACS Surgery Health Equity in the Emergency Trauma Care_ Analysis of Disparities in the Pre-Hospital Emergency Trauma Care System Clinical Funded
5   Travis B Lear, PhD Pharmacology Investigating Proteolytic Regulation of Cellular Nutrient Sensing Mechanisms Laboratory Funded
6      Kenneth Yan, MD, PhD Surgery Characterization of the Microbiome Related to Head and Neck Pathologies Clinical/Laboratory Funded
7   Kenneth Yan, MD, PhD Surgery Efficacy of Superior Laryngeal Nerve Blocks For Cough Management Clinical Funded
8       Ying Xu, MD, PhD Anesthesiology Role of PDE2A in Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Alzheimer’s Disease Laboratory/Behavioral Funded
9      Joanelle Bailey, MD, MPH Surgery Department of a Trauma Chronic Stress Burden (TCSB) Score Using Single-Center Trauma Registry Data Clinical Funded
10   Theresa Liyun Chang, PhD Microbiology Role of IFN epsilon in cancers Laboratory Funded
11

     

 David Paglia, PhD Orthopaedics Postnatal systemic loss of Cox2 signaling Laboratory Funded
12

 

   

 Steven Levison, PhD Pharmacology Intranasal LIF Rx To Improve Neurological Recovery from Repeated Intermittent Hypoxic Episodes in Neonatal Mice Laboratory/Behavioral Funded
13

     

 Keri Lunsford, MD, PhD, FACS Surgery Association of Pre-Transplant Immune Dysfunction Clinical/Lab Funded
14   Ping-Hsin Chen, PhD Family Medicine Violence Outreach Intervention and Community Education VOICE Program Behavioral Funded
15

    

   

 

 Nina Glass, MD, FACS Surgery Clinical Research in Acute Care Surgery Clinical

Funded

(Multiple Openings)
16

    

 Sheldon Lin, MD Orthopaedics Effect of topical Vanco upon diabetic bone healing Laboratory Funded
17   Katsunori Sugimoto, PhD Microbiology Structure-Guided Eneineering of ATM Dimer Interface To Dissect Functional Allostery Laboratory and Computer Analysis Funded
18   Chaoyang Xue, PhD Microbiology Mechanism of echinocandin drug resistance in yeast pathogen Cryptococcus neoformans Laboratory Funded
19

    

 Stanley Weiss, MD Medicine Long-Term Cohort Project Studying Drug Users and Related Groups Clinical/Laboratory/Behavioral Funded
20       J.Patrick O'Connor, PhD Orthopaedics Control of Skeletal Maintenance and Regeneration by Inflammatory Lipid Mediators Laboratory Funded
21        Yingda Xie, MD  Medicine Imaging Signatures of Early Tuberculosis Clinical Funded
22   Yingda Xie, MD Medicine Transmission Links and Clinical Spectrum Of Exhaled Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Clinical Funded
23   Jason H. Yang, PhD Microbiology Bioenergetic Regulation Of Virulence in Enteropathogenic Bacteria  Laboratory Funded
24   Vijay K. Yadav, PhD Center For Cell Signaling Effect of Taurine Gradient on Regulating Organ Health Laboratory Funded
25   Nikhat Parveen Microbiology Study Of Tick-Borne Diseases, Syphilis, P. Aeruginosa, and Analysis Of Samples After Treatment In Vitro Or Recovered From Mice Laboratory Funded
26       Pratik A Shukla, MD Radiology Identifying Disparities Surrounding Access to Minimally Invasive Treatment Options For Women Suffering From Uterine Fibroids  Other Funded
27       Susan E. Pories, MD, FACS Surgery The Hope Library: Storytelling as Psychosocial Support for Cancer Patients Clinical Funded
28       Alice Chu, M Orthopaedics Pediatric Orthopaedics Research Clinical Funded
29      Cynthia Santos, MD

Emergency Medicine

 Emergency Department Alternatives to Opioids Program, Incorporating Innovative Strategies to Enhance Training and Utilization of Pharmacological and Alternative Pain Management Techniques Clinical Funded
30   Cynthia Santos, MD Emergency Medicine Evaluation of a Multi-Entry Point Community Based Model for MOUD initiation and Continuity of Care Using an Opioid Response Team   Clinical  
31   Alex K. Wong, MD OBGYN Therapeutic Lymphatic Regeneration By Retinoic Acid Derivatives Laboratory Funded
32   Francisco Alvarado, MD Surgery Evaluating 1-Year Follow-Up of After Implementing Behavioral Health Guidelines At A Pediatric Trauma Center Clinical Funded
33   Ioana Carcea, MD Pharmacology Physiology and Neuroscience Susceptibility of Glucose Regulation to Social Isolation Laboratory Funded
34   Nicholas Bessman, PhD Medicine Understanding Biased EGFR Signaling In Intestinal Inflammation, Colitis and Colorectal Cancer Laboratory Funded
35   Ziad C. Sifri, MD Surgery Clinical Mission Based Research in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Clinical Funded
36   Walter Zahorodny, PhD Pediatrics  Motor Deficits and Delays in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder  Other Funded