Why should medical school students invest their time in basic science research? That’s our theme for this episode of Behind the Bench from AJP-Heart and Circ. Hosts Lisandra de Castro Brás (East Carolina University) and Jonathan Kirk (Loyola University Chicago) interview Dhandevi Persand and Nicole Maddie, both students at the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dhandevi and Nicole won the FASEB Dream Award to attend the APS Professional Skills Training Course on Writing and Reviewing for Scientific Journals, and they have co-authored a New Investigator Editorial detailing their experiences. More importantly, Dhandevi and Nicole are using their platform as Women in Stem to promote the importance of research for clinical trainees. As students in the NYIT Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.) program, Nicole and Dhandevi focus on how structure affects function. The translational research projects they have both worked on have cemented their feelings that research is critically important for medical students and clinicians. Did you know that D.O. students must complete 200 additional hours of coursework, compared to M.D. students, in order to learn osteopathic manipulative medicine? Listen for a refreshingly open conversation about time management and reaching for “stretch goals” which turn out to be surprisingly attainable.

Dhandevi Persand and Nicole Maddie New investigator editorial: the osteopathic medical student perspective on research Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published December 2, 2020. DOI: doi.org/10.1152/ajpheart.00813.2020