Students Present Their Research at the Annual Scientific Meetings Thanks to the FHA Student Researcher Fund And "An Evening With Friends"

Medical students Brant Ullery and Deepthi Martha Reddy wouldn't have been able to attend and present their research at the American Geriatrics Society's 2006 Annual Scientific Meeting had it not been for the AGS Foundation for Health in Aging's Student Researcher Fund.

Supported by the FHA's annual "An Evening With Friends" fundraiser-a perennial annual meeting favorite -- the fund helps defray travel expenses for students like Ullery and Reddy who have been accepted to present their research during the meeting.

Each year, AGS accepts more than 100 student abstracts for presentation in the meetings' general poster and paper sessions as well as a special student poster session. Helping student researchers attend the meeting, present their findings and meet professionals in the field both raises their awareness of the importance of understanding older adults' unique healthcare needs and gives them a sense of what an exciting and rewarding field geriatrics is.

Reddy, a first year medical student at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas, is still deciding what career path to take in medicine.

"As a physician I will probably work with geriatric patients regardless of the field I choose to enter," she says. "Geriatrics is relevant to most specialties as the health conditions and health care issues faced by older adults are vast. Furthermore, the growing population of older adults underscores the need for more health care professionals and students to be adequately trained to address these issues."

The research Reddy presented at AGS' 2006 meeting focused on the need for asthma education for both older adults and children and concluded that older adults can play effective roles as community health workers teaching children about asthma. Presenting her research was an invaluable experience, she says.

"Presenting at the meeting allowed me to meet and communicate with experts in geriatrics and other fields who offered insightful recommendations on ways to expand my research and helped me broaden my knowledge of the most current studies being conducted," Reddy explains.

"The FHA Student Researcher Fund was vital to my ability to attend and present my findings at the annual meeting," notes Ullery, a student at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City. "Attending the conference was a wonderful experience as it was an excellent opportunity to open a dialogue with many geriatricians."

Ullery, who plans a career as a cardiothoracic surgeon, researched the evolution of cardiac surgery and the importance of including elderly patients - who make up the most rapidly growing sector of the US population - in cardiothoracic research.

Though Ullery already understood the importance of geriatric healthcare, he says he learned a great deal from attending the meeting. "I have gained an appreciation for the symbiotic relationship necessary between geriatrics and cardiac surgery to ensure elderly patients achieve equitable health care," he says.