#  2025 VRIP Concludes 

 





July 30, 2025

 

 

   ![Eleven VRIP students pose with their certificates alongside two staff members. The Harvard Medical School logo is projected on a screen behind them. ](/sites/g/files/omnuum11411/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2025-07/3W0A9917.JPG?itok=IO3Zo2dF) 

 

On Thursday, June 24, 11 students presented their summer projects as a conclusion to this year’s Visiting Research Internship Program (VRIP). VRIP was established in 2009 as an eight-week mentored summer research program for first- and second-year medical and dental school students. Students are able to research a topic related to their interest in research and health-related careers, particularly on the clinical and translational research side. In addition to spending the summer in Boston and in the labs, students also attend networking events, seminars, and other offerings from Harvard Medical School.

Attendees from across HMS and affiliate hospitals attended the VRIP Closing Ceremony, many of whom were lab members of the VRIP students. Research topics ranged from the impact of substance abuse on pregnancy to simplifying the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA).

## 2025 VRIP Cohort:

**Xavier Calicdan**

University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences

Mentor: Joji Suzuki, MD

Brigham and Women's Hospital

**Julio Camacho**

Arizona College of Medicine - Tucson

Mentors: Matthew L. Meyerson,

MD, PhD; Elisa Aquilanti, MD

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

**Angela Diaz**

Indiana University School of Medicine

Mentor: Andrea Edlow, MD, MSc

Massachusetts General Hospital

**Alexandra Dubuisson**

Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center Shreveport

Mentor: Raina N. Fichorova, MD, PhD, AMHC

Brigham and Women's Hospital

**Grace Guzman**

University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences

Mentor: Jennifer W. Mack, MD, MPH

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

**Edwin Medina González**

University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine

Mentor: Daniel Z. Press, MD

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

**Giovanna Mompremier**

Florida State University College of Medicine

Mentor: Elena Aikawa, MD, PhD

Brigham and Women's Hospital

**Dana Moskowitz**

Tufts University School of Dental Medicine

Mentor: Sercan Akyalcin, DDS, MS, PhD

Harvard School of Dental Medicine

**Diane Saab**

University of Texas Southwestern Medical School

Mentor: Samuel J. Lin, MD, MBA

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

**Diana Sotelo**

Paul L. Foster School of Medicine at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in El Paso

Mentors: Shannon Stott, PhD; Brian Nahed, MD

Massachusetts General Hospital

**Sergio Vazquez**

Charles R. Drew University of Medicine & Science

Mentor: Cristina Aguayo-Mazzucato, MD, PhD

Joslin Diabetes Center



 

 

 



 

 

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