Wilson Scholars in Addiction Medicine Research Award

The goal of the Wilson Scholars Fund is to support developing physicians in the field of addiction medicine to address the overwhelming crisis of addiction and its terrible toll on human life and the health care system. The Wilson Scholars Award supports medical students between their first and second years who are interested in learning more about the field of addiction medicine. Preference will be given to those who have been impacted through life experiences such as discrimination, socioeconomic status, or currently or historically underserved living environment. Examples of life experiences can include low-income household or locale, first-or second-generation higher education student, low access to health care, food and proper nutrition, or disability. Preference will also be given to students from schools which do not offer clinical experiences in addiction medicine.

By the end of the fellowship, students will complete a project with an addiction medicine faculty member from the University of Pittsburgh and travel to Pittsburgh for an addiction medicine shadowing experience.  

Award Description

• Scholars are matched to a faculty mentor of their choice from the Addiction Medicine Fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh.
• Scholars will work with their mentor on a research project during an 8-week period from June 2024 – August 2024. The start and end of the 8-week period may vary based on the individual scholar’s academic calendar and will be determined after the award announcement.
• Each scholar will be awarded $4,000.

This program is remote with travel to Pittsburgh, PA. Additional funding is provided for travel.

Eligibility

• Current first-year medical students.
• Current U.S. residents.
• Commitment of at least 30 hours/week for 8 weeks from June 2024 – August 2024.
• Priority will be given to candidates from populations highlighted by the NIH’s Interest in Diversity and/or institutions without an addiction medicine program.

 NOTE: Current employees of the University of Pittsburgh are not eligible.

Faculty Mentors

• Jane Liebschutz, MD, MPH: My research is focused on developing interventions to combat the current crisis in opioid use disorders.

• Raagini Jawa, MD, MPH: My areas of interest are harm reduction implementation, xylazine and other adulterants, and prevention of infectious complications of drug use.

• Paul Joudrey, MD, MPH: My research focuses on identifying factors impacting addiction treatment access and outcomes across urban and rural communities and developing, evaluating, and scaling interventions tailored to community needs to improve the health of people who use drugs. This includes research to expand access to patient centered methadone treatment for opioid use disorder.

• Julie Childers, MD: My research is focused on developing and evaluating substance use disorder curricula, with a particular focus on communication and in the palliative care setting.

• Payel Jhoom Roy, MD, MSc: My research focuses on the impact of prescribing policy on buprenorphine dispensing, oral health impact on medications for opioid use disorder, and alternative treatments for substance use disorders.

Key Dates

Application Requirements

Application materials will be accepted through January 31, 2024. After you submit your application, a confirmation email will automatically be sent to your email (check your spam folder). If you do not receive a confirmation email, that means your application was not submitted and we did not receive it. Please ensure all fields are filled out and resubmit your application.

In addition, students must submit:

1. A CV or resume.
2. A summary of learning goals (500 words or less) that describes your relevant background and learning goals for the summer.

Link: https://pitt.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1NP4GYuqpRoMWfs

If you have any issues completing the application, please email Jen Silver at jensilver@pitt.edu.

Curriculum

The addiction medicine summer program includes research and clinical components.

Research Component

The student will collaborate on a research project with their faculty mentor. The mentor will provide an introduction to research methods, and students will complete all appropriate Human Subjects Protection trainings.

Clinical Component

The student will have an opportunity to shadow their mentor and other expert care providers in various addiction treatment/services settings including:

• Primary care-based opioid treatment program
• Inpatient addiction consult service