The ASSURE fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis provides college students from the St. Louis metro area an opportunity to engage in basic, clinical, and/or translational research projects. Candidates without prior research experience are particularly encouraged to apply.

Under the mentorship of a Department of Anesthesiology faculty member, ASSURE fellows will work on projects in a lab or clinical setting, meet with mentors, attend journal clubs, engage in professional development opportunities, receive assistance with graduate school preparation planning, and gain valuable research experience.

Program Dates

June 3 – August 9, 2024

Applications are now closed for the Summer 2024 cycle.

Available Research Opportunities

This program is heavily mentored and each awardee will work closely with mentor(s) and students at various stages in their academic careers. Fellows will participate in research opportunities across the translational research spectrum – from fundamental laboratory research into disease pathophysiology at the cellular level to clinical research involving human patients. Additional areas of research are as follows:

lab research

Areas of Basic Research

Examples include neurobiology of pain, itch, sleep, stress and addiction/substance use disorders, cell biology, biophysics, pharmacology of analgesic and anesthetic drugs.

Areas of Clinical Research

Examples include prediction, prevention, and treatment of undesired surgical outcomes; Acute and chronic pain; Mental health disorders; Neurocognitive disorders
Critical illness; COVID-19; Utilizing informatics and machine learning to improve patient outcomes.

Fellowship Benefits

  • Research opportunities with experienced faculty
  • $7,000 stipend
  • Free St. Louis public transportation pass (MetroLink)
  • University campus housing with other undergraduate research students
  • Exposure to mentors and students at various stages in their academic careers
  • Mentorship & guidance from our trainee-run diversity committee: Committee for Real Equity in Anesthesiology Training and Education (CREATE)
  • Professional development opportunities
  • Graduate school preparation planning

Latest News

Announcing the 2023 Cohort of ASSURE Fellows

Announcing the 2023 Cohort of ASSURE Fellows
We are thrilled to announce the incoming 2023 cohort of Anesthesiology Summer Research (ASSURE) fellows, marking the third year of the program at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.

ASSURE fellowship graduates second cohort of students as program continues to flourish and receives external funding support

ASSURE fellowship graduates second cohort of students as program continues to flourish and receives external funding support
ASSURE fellows concluded their summers with an end-of-program poster session at the School of Medicine, where they presented their work and answered questions about the research they conducted throughout the summer. Looking ahead, the ASSURE fellowship program aims to continue growing in size and scope by seeking additional support through grants and philanthropic funding. Recently, the fellowship program was awarded a grant from the Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital which will be instrumental in maintaining momentum and continuing to improve the program.

The ASSURE fellowship aims to attract, train, mentor, and provide long-term career support for local college students. We especially welcome applications from individuals from backgrounds that are historically underrepresented in science and medicine.