The predoctoral fellowship is a doctoral training grant intended specifically for M.D./Ph.D. combined degree students. It will fund three years of her dissertation research and the third and fourth years of medical school.

Astapova’s research centers on the molecular biology of diabetes. Her project is designed to uncover key insulin resistance genes through studying a unique and rare monogenetic form of diabetes, she explained.

Astapova, who is in her first graduate year of training under Todd Leff, Ph.D., associate professor of the Department of Pathology, is originally from Moscow. She moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., at the age of 14, and now lives in Detroit. The 25-year-old completed her undergraduate studies in biochemistry at the University of Michigan.

Astapova said she always wanted to be a physician, but after working part-time in a reproductive endocrinology lab while in college, she “just fell in love with research.

“I considered going to graduate school for awhile, then happened to see a presentation about combined M.D./Ph.D. programs, and decided to go for it.”

Astapova selected the School of Medicine’s M.D./Ph.D. program because she knew a few medical students here who spoke about the quality of the education and training provided by the faculty.

“I heard a lot of good things about the medical school and success stories about its graduates,” she said. Attending WSU also helped her remain close to her mother, her only family member in the country.

With this most recent award, students in the M.D./Ph.D. program have received nine extramural fellowships.

Victor’s fellowship topic is “Cathepsin B and Its Binding partners in the Aggressiveness of Inflammatory Breast Cancer.” Her dissertation is mentored by Bonnie Sloane, Ph.D., distinguished professor and chairwoman of the School of Medicine’s Department of Pharmacology.

Victor, a native of Chesterfield Township, Mich., and graduate of L’Anse Creuse High School North, earned a cum laude bachelor’s degree in biology from Wayne State University. She was awarded a 2004-2005 Wayne State University Graduate School Graduate Research Assistantship that enabled her to accomplish a majority of her course work and the preliminary research required to qualify for this fellowship.

The fellowship will support Victor’s dissertation research on the most lethal form of breast cancer, Inflammatory Breast Cancer. IBC is highly malignant and its incidence is increasing in younger women, particularly in the Middle Eastern and African-American populations in the United States. She pointed out that at present there are no effective therapies for IBC and drug targets and pathways to reduce its aggressiveness need to be identified. Her research is examining the role of proteases, cathepsin B in particular, in promoting formation of the emboli characteristic of IBC.

Victor said the fellowship’s training plan “will create a foundation for my development as an independent investigator and breast cancer researcher. She emphasized that as a graduate student in Dr. Sloane’s laboratory, “I am obtaining an invaluable perspective on the commitment and skills necessary to perform independent research. This pre-doctoral traineeship further benefits my scientific research and sets the course for my future as an independent investigator.”

Victor’s dissertation mentor, Dr. Sloane, a worldwide leader in proteases and cancer research, said, “Bernadette’s success in obtaining federal funding to support her predoctoral research should translate into success in obtaining federal funding as she moves on in her research career. In this project she is working collaboratively with others at Wayne State and other institutions (University of Windsor, New York University and Cairo University), experience that will be beneficial in the increasingly collaborative world of global science.”

Originally beginning his studies at Michigan State University, Atchison was first an economics major. However, he had an affinity for the medical field and spent his time volunteering at the Cristo Rey Clinic in Lansing, Mich. In addition to his time at the clinic, he also spent time performing research at his father’s pharmacology lab and Dr. Gregory Fink’s lab at Michigan State University.

Working in a research laboratory quickly became a passion for Atchison.

“Working in a research environment has helped me develop attributes that would benefit me as a physician. It has forced me to develop higher-level critical thinking and complex problem-solving skills,” Atchison said.

In 2006, he came to Wayne State University School of Medicine and enrolled in the M.D./Ph.D. program. The third-year student from Mason, Mich., is completing his first year of graduate training with William Beierwaltes, Ph.D., at Henry Ford Hospital.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Beierwaltes, he has focused his research on studying a specific hormone known as renin, which is secreted by the kidneys.

“The hormone renin has a profound effect on a person’s blood pressure. By studying this hormone, we will be able to find new ways to combat cardiovascular diseases,” said Atchison.

In accordance with the requirements of the M.D./Ph.D. program, Atchison had to apply for external funding. Based upon his outstanding work, he ultimately received a fellowship.

The fellowship, which covers tuition expenses and other fees, is specifically with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

“The fellowship assists students who have an interest in kidney studies. It provides me with opportunities to develop my skills as both a physician and researcher for my future career,” said Atchison.

Also known as the Cloister Program, the fellowship was established in 1985 to give outstanding students at U.S. medical schools the opportunity to receive research training at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. This year the program accepted 42 students who are interested in receiving elite research training and who have demonstrated an interest in pursuing a research-driven career. The fellowship offers a year-long immersion research experience at the National Institutes of Health sponsored by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Students live, conduct research and attend lectures at the NIH campus. The first month students may rotate among labs they find attractive, and then spend the year working with a principal investigator at a lab of their choosing.

Mangus, 25, is a third-year medical student from Orchard Lake, Mich. She completed her undergraduate work at Albion College.

During the summer of 2007, Mangus spent two months at the National Cancer Institute/NIH conducting a research project related to the role of IGF-R in the pathology and treatment of rhabdomyosarcoma, a cancer of skeletal muscle cells that often affects younger children. As an undergraduate, she spent a summer at the Karmanos Cancer Institute investigating folate metabolism and genetic mutation in Down Syndrome and associated myeloproliferative disorders.

While Mangus has been interested in medicine since childhood, the treatment of a family member caused that spark to ignite.

“My interest grew in high school when my young cousin was diagnosed with leukemia. I accompanied him on his chemo visits and shadowed his primary oncologist on several occasions,” she explained. “Eventually, I pursued a pre-med concentration in college and then applied to medical school. My cousin is now in remission and healthy.”

That experience has led to her ongoing pursuit of a career in pediatric oncology. After graduation, Mangus wants to pursue a residency in pediatrics, followed by a fellowship in hematology-oncology. Her goal is a career that combines patient care and scientific research.

During her first and second years of medical school, Mangus was involved in Amigos Medicos, first as a member, then as director of Language Education. The student organization seeks to improve the health and well-being of underserved members of the local Hispanic population by providing free health education in the community as well as Spanish language instruction for future physicians. She also volunteered at Children’s Hospital through the Arie Foundation and Pediatric Interest Group, an outreach program dedicated to helping children with cancer. Additionally, she served as a volunteer translator (Spanish-English) at Covenant Community Clinic in Detroit.

Mangus selected the School of Medicine because of its “outstanding reputation for clinical education and training.” Also, she was eager to train in an urban environment, and her grandfather, John Ronayne, graduated from the School of Medicine in 1950, and “was an excellent physician.”

“I was taken by the idea that someone could actually 'fix something' inside of one's head,” he said. After the surgery, Beaumont’s mother provided him with a copy of the operative report of the surgery. “I read it in its entirety, several times over, despite the fact that I understood very little. This was the first time I considered a career as a surgeon.”

He began shadowing doctors at various hospitals in addition to working as a volunteer on the bone marrow transplant unit at Karmanos Cancer Institute.

“Immediately I knew medicine was the right choice,” he said.  “While I was fond of the science of it, equally as appealing was the human element. The patients on the BMT unit spanned all ages and had one thing in common -- they were all very sick. Being able to be part of a patient's life at such an intimate moment was the most fulfilling experience I had ever had.”

Beaumont entered the Wayne State University M.D./Ph.D. program  in 2001. He completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry at WSU before receiving his Ph.D. from the Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, at the School of Medicine. His Ph.D. dissertation, titled "Defining the human epileptic transcriptome," was carried out using human brain tissue surgically removed from children with medically refractory epilepsy being treated at Children's Hospital of Michigan.

“I wouldn't do medicine without science, and I wouldn't do science without medicine. I see them as integral aspects of one another,” Beaumont said. “I wanted to attend a school that offered exceptional clinical training but also had strength in research and the basic sciences. Having thoroughly enjoyed my research experiences as an undergraduate, I was also interested in pursuing a Ph.D., preferably in a combined program. Thus, Wayne State was a perfect match.”

Beaumont continues to pursue studies in neuroscience for both clinical practice as well as research. He has worked in neuroscience-oriented research laboratories since the first semester of his undergraduate education and has had the opportunity to observe many neurosurgical procedures.

“From the very first time I saw the living human brain, pulsating with each heart beat, I immediately fell in love with it,” he explained. “It was quite simply the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I was taken by the notion that somewhere within its complex meshwork of cells and synapses lies the origin of who we are.”

After graduation, Beaumont hopes to begin a residency in neurological surgery.

“I'm interested in an a career as a clinician-scientist, where I can combine surgical skills and scientific training to treat patients and conduct translational research on functional brain disorders such as epilepsy and behavioral disorders.”

The NMF, founded in 1946, exists to increase the number of underrepresented minority physicians in the United States. The organization provides scholarships to boost the numbers of minority physicians, educators, researchers, policy makers and health care administrators; train minority medical students to address the needs of their communities, and educate the public and policy makers about health problems in underserved populations.

Postell, 27, originally from Huber Heights, Ohio, and now living in Auburn Hills, completed her undergraduate studies at Oakland University.

She said she will apply the $4,000 scholarship toward tuition and expenses.

Postell became interested in medicine as a child, when her grandparents died of cancer. “My grandparents died beginning when I was 4 years old, which did not allow me the opportunity of remembering much of them,” she said.

She is interested in surgical oncology because of the battle her grandparents fought.

The newly elected 2009-10 secretary for the Black Medical Association/Student National Medical Association Black Medical Association, Postell is also a member of the Surgery Interest Group, the American Medical Association and the Christian Medical Association. Outside of medical school, she serves as president of a weekly tutoring and mentoring program for students of all ages in Pontiac. She also volunteers at the Mercy Place free clinic in Pontiac.

“I chose the Wayne State University School of Medicine because the university chose me when I thought that I was not good enough to become a physician and because of the awesome training in the Detroit metro area,” Postell said.