PROGRAM BACKGROUND

The UAHS-Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with AzAHEC offered a ten -week summer internship: BLAISER/ FRONTERA Summer Internship providing undergraduate and graduate students with preparation to apply to graduate programs, research experience, and an increased understanding of public health disparities in the U.S.-Mexico Border Region. Participants were matched, according to their area of interest, with faculty mentors engaged in biomedical and public health research that has an impact on the health of border residents. Working with faculty mentors, interns developed their own short-term research projects or assisted mentors in completing key tasks or activities, like conducting literary reviews, facilitating focus groups, designing data collection instruments, among other scholarly activities, that contributed to the overall success of the research project. Interns also had presentations about the City of Nogales, health care facilities and public health agencies on Benson and Phoenix.

Concurrently, internship participants developed an in-depth understanding of the pathway to medical school; learned study and test-taking skills; prepared to take the MCAT & GRE; and received feedback on their personal statement in preparation to apply to medical school. On the final week, interns presented the outcome of their research at the BLAISER/FRONTERA closing ceremony.

The University of Arizona Health Sciences Center in Tucson, AZ, is unique in its ability to expose our BLAISER/FRONTERA Interns to hands-on research experience, border health disparities immersion, and preparation to successfully apply to graduate programs. In addition to being located within the border region, our institution possesses an incredible wealth of committed and world renowned faculty; a network of organizations committed to improve the health of border communities; and community leaders interested in developing the next generation of culturally competent and research savvy health professionals, all of which work cohesively to tackle important public health issues.