Diversity Summer Travel Fellowship in Otolaryngology for Under-Represented Minority Medical Students
Application Deadline: December 31, 2025
This program is sponsored by the American Head and Neck Society Research and Education Foundation, thanks to the very generous contributions of the Myers family – Dr. Eugene N. and Mrs. Barbara L. Myers and Dr. Jeffrey Myers. It is intended to expose an under-represented minority medical student to the field of Head and Neck surgery specifically and Otolaryngology in general.
A grant of $5,000 will be awarded to a medical student to cover travel, lodging and food expenses for the summer experience. This summer program offers the interested candidate the opportunity to work in a Department of Academic Excellence in Head and Neck Surgical Oncology that has an approved Fellowship Training Program from the Advanced Training Council of the AHNS.
Participants will be assigned to a clinical faculty mentor and will rotate on his or her clinical service and have the chance to participate in the care of Head and Neck Cancer patients in the outpatient setting, inpatient environment, as well as the operating room. Summer fellows will also have the opportunity to perform basic, translational, clinical, or population based research under the guidance of a chosen/assigned research mentor. This could be a new project, or an ancillary project nested within an ongoing investigation. Each institution has different rules in place as it pertains to visiting students. This may factor into identifying a research mentor.
At the end of the fellowship, the awardee is expected to provide a brief summary of their experience in its totality, what they learned, and the most impactful experiences throughout the summer. This should include feedback on what worked well and what did not. In addition, the awardees will be required to submit an abstract-like document summarizing their research project including objectives, methods, results, and conclusions. Submission to an otolaryngology-related meeting is encouraged but not required and this would be at the discretion of the mentor.
The grant of $5,000 includes the recipient’s round-trip airfare, cost to travel to the meeting, transportation to and from, food, and hotel stay expenses at the AHNS Annual Meeting at COSM 2027, April 7-11, 2027, at Seattle Convention Center’s Arch Building and the Sheraton Grand Hotel Seattle, Washington. At the AHNS Annual meeting at COSM, the student will share their Summer experience via 10-15 minute PowerPoint presentation and can network with AHNS members.
Ideally the candidate is between year 1 and 2 of medical school. Some applicants between year 2 and 3 may have the ability to participate as a fellow award winner but this depends upon their medical school year academic calendar.
Our Myers’ Family Summer Travel Fellowship in Otolaryngology FAQ page can be found by clicking here.
We are requesting applicants to submit:
- A personal statement, not more than 500 words (one page, single-spaced) detailing why you want this fellowship experience. Please include in the personal statement your underrepresented minority status (Identify as an underrepresented in the scientific workforce based on AAMC January 2021 definitions, including: individuals from racial/ethnic groups: African American/Black, Hispanic/Latin Origin, Asian/ Pacific Islander, American Indian)
- A copy of your CV to be included with the personal statement
- A letter of recommendation
- Students must be in good standing at an accredited US medical school
Please see AHNS Research Foundation for criteria.
Please email [email protected] with any questions.
Past Award Recipients:
2025: Hailie C. Hayes
Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University
MD Candidate, Class of 2027
2024: Gabrianna Andrews
Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine
DO Candidate, Class of 2026
2023: Laura E. Jackson
University of Kansas School of Medicine
MD Candidate, Class of 2026
2022: Priya Arya
Mercer University School of Medicine in Savannah, GA
MD Candidate, Class of 2025
2021: Symone V. Jordan
University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, KY
MD Candidate, Class of 2024
“Parathyroid Carcinoma: An NCDB Analysis to Understand Diagnostic Challenges and
Outcomes of a Rare Endocrine Tumor”
2020: Derrick B. Lewis
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota
MD Candidate, Class 2023
“Improving Care for Patients with HPV+ Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma”
2019: Ezinne U. Agwaramgbo
University of Miami Florida, Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine
MD Candidate, Class of 2022
“Determining correlation between point of care and ELISA tests in detecting P16 biomarker protein”
2018: Frantzlee LaCrete
University of Nebraska Medical Center
MD Candidate, Class of 2024