Medical student first from SC to participate in prestigious NIH research program

It was a chance of a lifetime for third-year medical student Leah Cobb. 

Last July, Cobb chose to pause her medical school journey – mid-program – for a clinical research opportunity to work and learn at the world’s largest clinical research hospital: the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. 

Cobb also made history as MUSC and South Carolina’s first student to participate in the prestigious NIH Medical Research Scholars Program. The program’s goal is to train and prepare the next generation of clinician-scientists and biomedical researchers.

Cobb was selected from among 50 medical and dental students out of 129 applicants from across the country to take part in this competitive 10- to 12-month experience. The residential fellowship is open to third- and fourth-year medical, dental and veterinary school students from accredited programs who are interested in conducting basic, translational or clinical research as part of their educational journeys. The program matches scholars with full-time NIH researchers who provide mentored research experiences in the NIH laboratories and patient care areas, and they also receive clinical training and networking experiences and work with assigned advisors who provide career development.

“It was a very transformative year, and I can’t say enough praises about this program,” said Cobb, who is from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. “As medical students, we easily lose sight of how short the medical school experience really is. Our schedules are so busy that we forget to think about what our careers would look like past residency. Completing this program gave me the chance to do that while focusing on my research interests.” 

 

Cobb has always been interested in research work. Just prior to medical school, she was able to earn her master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Mississippi State University, fostering a passion for research and academics. She especially enjoyed teaching and mentoring students. Although her early research interests focused on osteomyelitis and bone disease, she was able to broaden those interests further to include neurology and ear, nose and throat-related research while as a student at MUSC.

At the NIH, she was paired with ophthalmology researchers to study retinitis pigmentosa, a term that covers a diverse group of genetic diseases that cause progressive peripheral vision loss – it affects 1 in every 4,000 people. Cobb studied ophthalmic genetics with families diagnosed with the disease and learned to apply imaging modalities to understand ocular diseases more comprehensively. 

“I was thrilled to work with my mentors. They embody a lot of what I aspire to be as a clinician and scientist,” Cobb said. “It was important to me to have their support and input. Also, working with patients was wonderful. Some of the rarest diseases in the world are characterized and discovered at the NIH. There’s a sense of innovation and awe walking into the main NIH Clinical Center Complex or Building 10. You don’t know what famous scientist or researcher could be walking down the hallway at any time,” she said. 

In addition to following a rigorous research agenda, scholars attended clinical teaching rounds, lectures and seminars, plus they participated in educational courses and journal clubs. Scholars also received stipends and $2,000 in educational funding support to attend conference travel, scientific courses and textbooks. 

Cobb learned about the program scrolling the internet as she searched for research opportunities. She collected recommendations from faculty and advisors and applied. By March of 2021, she completed NIH-MRSP interviews and was contacted that April. She’s grateful to her mentors and faculty advisors for their guidance and preparing letters of recommendation  for her.

 

Jeanne Hill, M.D., professor and associate dean for career planning and advising in the College of Medicine, recalls how enthusiastic Cobb was connecting the NIH mentorship program with her personal goals of lifelong learning and research and took opportunities to strengthen her application and prepare for program interviews. Hill also commented about a new emphasis of research in medical education.

“With many changes in the undergraduate medical education landscape, including pass fail curricula and the Pass Fail USMLE Step 1 Exam [the U.S. Medical Licensing Exam], research is taking on a greater importance in the transition to residency,” said Hill. 

Cobb is confident in how MUSC’s medical school curriculum prepares students to be competitive and successful in the NIH research scholars program. “I hope my participation can open doors for other students to be aware of this opportunity. The program values diversity in each cohort and South Carolina is a valuable piece in this group. I hope future MUSC students can continue to participate in this program in the years to come,” she said.

The path Cobb paved has already proved successful. “Opportunities are out there. One just has to find them or network with others to discover them as well. It’s a good thing,” she said.

Earlier this spring, third-year medical students, and sisters, Ashley and Alexa Golbus, were accepted to the 2023-2024 NIH-MRSP, or Medical Student Research Program, cohort and started the NIH program in Maryland.

“Given the track record of Leah Cobb, Alexa and Ashley Golbus, we could not ask for better representatives of the MUSC College of Medicine than these three outstanding young women,” Hill added.