UT Southwestern receives grant from the Amgen Foundation to host Amgen Scholars Program
DALLAS – Nov. 1, 2018 – UT Southwestern Medical Center has been awarded a four-year grant from the Amgen Foundation to provide hands-on laboratory experience to undergraduate students across the North Texas region through the Amgen Scholars Program. This is the first year that UT Southwestern will participate in the program, which aims to inspire the next generation of innovators by providing undergraduates with hands-on summer research opportunities at many of the world’s premier educational and research institutions.
“Designation as an Amgen Scholars institution reaffirms UT Southwestern’s international stature as an elite biomedical research institution. It also augments our highly successful Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, directed by Associate Dean Dr. Nancy Street, which plays a key role in our efforts to recruit outstanding undergraduates nationally to do their Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. training at UT Southwestern and become future leaders in biomedical science,” said Dr. Andrew Zinn, Dean of UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Internal Medicine and with the Eugene McDermott Center for Human Growth and Development. Dr. Zinn holds the Rolf Haberecht and Ute Schwarz Haberecht Deanship of the UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences.
UT Southwestern is now one of 24 elite institutions across the U.S., Europe, Asia, and, for the first time, Australia and Canada. Through this new four-year commitment of more than $21 million, 1,500 undergraduates from hundreds of colleges and universities will have the chance to engage in research opportunities in biomedical and biotechnology fields. This signature initiative builds upon the Amgen Foundation’s mission to advance excellence in science education and empower tomorrow’s innovators, a goal to which the Foundation has contributed nearly $150 million globally to date.
“As the pace of innovation increases, so too does the need to educate the scientists of tomorrow,” said Robert A. Bradway, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Amgen. “We look forward to further expanding the reach of the Amgen Scholars Program, which has already provided research opportunities to thousands of talented undergraduates at premier institutions around the globe, and now has the potential do much more.”
Since its inception in 2006, the Amgen Scholars Program has made research opportunities at premier institutions possible for more than 3,900 undergraduate students representing 700 colleges and universities. Of those alumni who have completed their undergraduate studies, nearly 900 are currently pursuing an advanced graduate degree in a scientific field, and another 280 have earned their Ph.D. or M.D./Ph.D. More than 500 are employed in scientific fields across 33 countries, with 99 percent of surveyed alumni saying the program impacted their academic or professional direction. Alumni of the program are beginning to make a growing impact across academia, industry and government, garnering numerous awards and recognitions such as the Rhodes Scholarship, NIH Director's New Innovator Award, and selection to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in health care.
Amgen Scholars provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in the process of discovery and build intellectual connections with some of the most accomplished scientists around the world. Undergraduate participants benefit from undertaking a research project with the mentorship of top faculty, being part of a cohort-based experience, participating in seminars and networking events and taking part in a symposium in their respective region where they meet their peers, learn about biotechnology and hear from leading scientists in both industry and academia.
The program aims to break down barriers for many students who otherwise would not have the opportunity to engage in science at the world’s top educational and research institutions. Financial support for students is a critical component of the program, which seeks to ensure that eligible students, regardless of their financial status, can participate.
UT Southwestern is now accepting applications for the 2019 Amgen Scholars Program. For more information about the Amgen Scholars Program, or to complete an application, visit www.AmgenScholars.com and follow us on Twitter at @UTSWNews and @AmgenFoundation.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty has received six Nobel Prizes, and includes 22 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 15 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The faculty of more than 2,700 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians provide care in about 80 specialties to more than 105,000 hospitalized patients, nearly 370,000 emergency room cases, and oversee approximately 2.4 million outpatient visits a year.
