The visiting students from Central South University’s Xiangya School of Medicine took a break from their MD program to develop their research skills at UMMS as part of a training partnership. They offered their final project presentations and received their program completion certificates this month. Xiangya has relationships with a handful of US schools, but many students, including Yumeng Dong, pursue an experience at U-M.
“We hear from former students when they come back and their feedback about Michigan is always so positive,” Dong said. “They say the lab environment is very good and the city is so friendly. They made it sound so nice that I wanted to have that experience also.”
Dong trained in the lab of Alex Tsoi, an Assistant Professor of Dermatology and Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics. His research involves developing statistical models to predict risk for dermatologic diseases. Dong’s work specifically focused on identifying genetic factors contributing to varying manifestation among different ancestry groups for certain inflammatory skin diseases. She first-authored one manuscript on her work that is currently under review and a second paper is in preparation.
“I learned very much from Dr. Tsoi and my fellow lab members, including valuable analytics and computer science skills. I was also able to practice a lot of academic writing in English,” she said. “In China, all medical doctors are encouraged to do some research. Finishing the two year program at Michigan was totally worth it.”
Visiting students are matched with UMMS mentors based on their field interests and mentor availability. Dong was the first Xiangya student to train in Tsoi’s lab.
“Yumeng came to us with some wet lab experience already and a strong interest in learning analytics, which aligned nicely with the work we do. She did a great job during her time here,” said Tsoi, PhD. “As a mentor, I’ve worked with students form many backgrounds. They bring a unique and complementary perspective, which can be beneficial. We all learn from each other.”
Other students in the same cohort trained with mentors in Ophthalmology, Surgery, and Cardiovascular Medicine. Participants now return home to finish the final year of their eight-year MD program. UMMS typically welcomes around 10 new Xiangya students each fall into the two-year training program, all fully funded through their home institution. Faculty interested in mentoring a Xiangya student should reach out to Amy Huang, Global REACH Director for Asia Programs, to learn more.
Yongjie Deng worked in the lab of Eugene Chen, Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, on a project exploring potential new treatments to prevent abdominal aortic aneurysms.
“This experience was a very valuable learning opportunity,” Deng said. “The past two years, I’ve learned a lot of knowledge and gained so many friendships and memories. The experience was amazing.”