Cover story (continued)

Biology boost

Bridging the gap

Seeing a need to create a bridge between undergraduates and the health sciences programs, Dean Robert Elde went one step further. He played a critical role in creating the Health Careers Center, which connects the University’s six health sciences professional programs and the Center for Allied Health with undergraduate programs. “You won’t find a center like this in most universities,” says Judy Beniak, director of the center. It’s something that grew out of the need to serve undergraduates and create a more seamless transition to professional programs.

The center offers information sessions, workshops, credit-courses and special events. Undergraduates can take introductory courses in pharmacy, veterinary medicine, nursing and other professions. “This allows our students to envision themselves in traditional and emerging health careers early in their educational experience,” Beniak says.

The Health Careers Center also facilitates courses that take students to the next level. Those interested in medicine, for example, can enroll in “The Future Physician,” a class developed in conjunction with the Medical School. Highly motivated and talented students are invited to enroll in the course to learn about different pathways in medicine, meet medical school faculty and observe roles of physicians through experiential education in a hospital or community setting. “It’s taught by Kara Pacala, a family practice doctor and designed to give students a real sense of what it’s like to be a physician,” Beniak explains.

All-in-one education

CBS is one of only a few colleges nationwide that focuses on biological sciences. And the University is unique within the academic world for the breadth of its health sciences programs. With schools of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, veterinary medicine and public health, it’s one of the few universities with every discipline represented.

Students with an interest in health sciences are directed toward cutting-edge research and real-world health care environments early so that they can get a feel for what a career in the health sciences is really like. The fact that many health sciences are represented at the University means students have access to career exploration, research opportunities and information about the full range of options.

“There are so many options for a CBS undergraduate,” Gray says. While an undergraduate herself, she gained a taste of what working in the health sciences might be like. She volunteered at Fairview-Riverside Hospital, and worked in a pharmacy and an infusion clinic where she observed drugs being administered to cancer patients.

Her undergraduate experiences made a world of difference for Habib, too. She had planned to go to medical school, but exposure to the round-the-clock demands of the medical milieu while working in the experimental surgical services unit made her re-evaluate that goal. She joined the pre-dental club—one of many health sciences groups on campus—and found herself increasingly drawn to dentistry for its emphasis on preventative care as well as the patient rapport and even the artistry involved.

Phil Barbosa, a second-year student at the University of Minnesota Medical School, discovered that his interest in bedside manner outweighed his love of the lab. After working in a neuroimaging lab for three years, he found himself drawn to the human element; a realization based on firsthand experience. Says Barbosa: “I found I enjoyed talking with the patients much more than scanning their brains.”

Research meets real life

Working in a lab as an undergraduate used to be more exception than rule. Now, it’s de rigeur in undergraduate programs at universities across the country. The emphasis on inquiry and hands-on learning experiences at CBS is particularly useful to students looking to make a transition to the health sciences. CBS undergraduates have numerous research opportunities, many of them cutting-edge.

“Dozens of diseases are being studied as well as being treated,” points out David Bernlohr, head of biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics.

“Medicine in general is paved by basic research,” adds Casey. “I worked in Dr. Snustad’s genetics lab during my entire senior year. … It gave me some great research experience that was useful at various points in my life when I revisited basic research.” Ruen concurs. “These were great experiences that exposed me to the world of research and introduced me to the possibilities and necessities of constantly incorporating new knowledge into my work world. … I have many opportunities in my work day to use data analysis and field and clinical trials to generate information and convert that to knowledge.”

That balance of research and clinical experiences creates well-rounded students, but it’s also a key ingredient to cultivating future faculty. “Exposure to clinical practice and research is key to cultivating the next generation of professors in health sciences programs,” Wright points out.

Meeting the demand

With a surge in demand from an aging population, the need for well-trained doctors, dentists, pharmacists and health care providers of all disciplines—not to mention health sciences faculty to teach the next generation—is paramount. Whether they end up enrolled at a professional school at the Academic Health Center or across the country at Harvard or UCLA, CBS paves the way for undergraduates to move into the health sciences to meet that need.

—Stephanie Xenos

Phil Barbosa

CBS class of 2004, Second-year medical student

“I discovered that I wanted to go into medicine as an undergrad,” says Barbosa. “I spent three years working with Dr. Kelvin Lim in the psychiatry department on neuro-imaging projects ranging from schizophrenia to autism. … I found I enjoyed talking with the patients much more than scanning their brains.”

Ashley Gray

Second-year pharmacy student

“Taking the CBS curriculum—[subjects] like organic chemistry—I knew pharmacy would be a challenge,” Gray says. She started her undergraduate study with an eye to physical therapy, but discovered an affinity that ultimately propelled her in a different direction. She’s now a student at the University of Minnesota college of Pharmacy, one of the top-ranked programs in the country.

Rania Habib

CBS class of 2004, Second-year dental student

“I entered CBS with thoughts of going on to medical school,” Habib says. She spent time as an undergrad research assistant in the Department of Surgery during high school and as an undergraduate working on, among other things, early detection of septicemia, a life-threatening infection. Habib’s experiences as an undergrad nudged her toward dentistry, a field she feels suits her far better than medicine.

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