High school recipients receive $2,500 to support digestive disease research projects

The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Research Foundation has announced the 2014 AGA-Eli and Edythe Broad Student Research Fellowship Award recipients. This award stimulates interest in digestive disease research among high school students by supporting budding scientists' research projects.

"We are honored that these students have chosen to advance the understanding of digestive diseases through research," said Martin Brotman, MD, AGAF, chair of the AGA Research Foundation. "The AGA Research Foundation funds gifted students to help them to start their careers in research. This year we had an increase in applicants, all with great talents and remarkable ideas to better the industry. We are looking forward to seeing what these students accomplish through research projects."

Funded by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the high school recipients are given up to $2,500 each to support their research projects for a minimum of 10 weeks. This year's Broad Scholars are:

• Anjali Shankar, Sayre School, Lexington, KY
• Chiara Cominelli, Hawken School, Gates Mill, OH
• Kumaran Rajendran, Cheshire High School, Cheshire, CT
• Medha Venkat-Ramani, Walsh Jesuit High School, Cuyahoga Falls, OH
• Samuel Chaneles, Ransom Everglades Upper School, Miami, FL
• Shantanu Biswas, Long Reach High School, Columbia, MD
• William Xin, University School, Hunting Valley, OH

The AGA-Eli and Edythe Broad Student Research Fellowship Awards are part of AGA's student research fellowship awards program, designed to stimulate interest in gastroenterological research careers in high school, college and medical students. Selected through a rigorous national application process, the students have participated in research at such distinguished institutions as Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN; University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA; Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA; Mayo Clinic Medical School, Rochester, MN; and others.

Source: American Gastroenterological Association