BUSM Student Awarded Third HHMI Medical Research Fellowship

COM-Joseph_ParkJoseph Park, a second-year student at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM), was recently awarded his third Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s (HHMI) Medical Research Fellowship. He is one of 79 medical students selected to conduct in-depth, mentored biomedical research.

Park graduated from Princeton University in 2013 with a degree in molecular biology. His interest in the field of infectious diseases began during his second year at BUSM under the direction of assistant professor of microbiology Stephanie Oberhaus, PhD.

Park was awarded his first HHMI fellowship in 2015 and worked with Matthew Waldor, MD, PhD, at Brigham and Women’s Hospital to explore the interaction between bacterial pathogens and human cells. Much of his worked has focused on Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a seafood-borne bacterial pathogen that causes gastrointestinal infection. A second HHMI fellowship in 2016 allowed him to continue with this work.

For his third HHMI fellowship, Park plans to delve into the cell biology of chlamydia in hopes of advancing knowledge of the disease.

“I am grateful to HHMI for the opportunity to train to become a physician-scientist who advances basic science knowledge and translates expertise to clinical care,” said Park.

Each fellow receives $43,000 in grant support and spends a year pursuing basic, translational, or applied biomedical research at one of 32 academic or nonprofit research institutions across the U.S.