Two UF medical students selected for research scholar program

Two University of Florida College of Medicine students have been selected for a paid research internship at the National Institutes of Health, in Bethesda, Md. This marks the first time two UF medical students have been selected in the same year.

Second-year medical students Hugh Walters and Steven Messina will participate in the yearlong Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program. The program, which begins this July, is designed to give medical students a solid background in basic science research.

Both UF students, who are among the 42 students from around the country selected this year, plan to concentrate on topics within the field of neuroscience.

Headquartered in Chevy Chase, Md., the Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a nonprofit research organization that employs hundreds of biomedical scientists and supports science education at all levels through grants and other activities.