Research Opportunities are Invaluable to Temple/St. Luke’s Medical Students

Over 30 student authors recently gave podium and poster presentations of their research at the third annual Temple/St. Luke’s School of Medicine Santo Longo Research Day at the Priscilla Payne Hurd Education Center on the Bethlehem campus. 

The afternoon was dedicated to presenting and sharing original research with St. Luke’s faculty, staff, donors and the public by the Temple/St. Luke’s students. This was the first year that the event was named for Angie and Dr. Santo Longo, whose support of medical education through their Medical Scholarship Endowment Fund provides much-needed opportunities for qualifying students who are in good academic standing, demonstrate a commitment to medical research and publication, and have completed the annual summer research work-study program.

Dr. Longo is beloved at St. Luke’s for his pathology expertise and commitment to the Temple/St. Luke’s School of Medicine programs. He has mentored dozens of medical students, many of whom are now St. Luke’s physicians, and is now honored with the annual research day in his name.

“Dr. Longo and his wife, Angie, know the importance for these future physicians to incorporate the understanding and application of in-depth research as they consider their career paths and as a means to strengthen their residency applications,” said Dr. Shaden Eldakar-Hein, MS, Temple/St. Luke’s Senior Associate Dean. “It’s invaluable for them to collaborate with clinicians and have exposure to an area of interest through research.”

Dr. James Anasti, Temple/St. Luke’s Director of Clinical Curriculum and Research, will survey attending physicians and Temple/St. Luke’s faculty for research topics and present them to the class at the beginning of each academic year. Topics are chosen and students break out into teams, which are mentored by an investigator—a clinician—in their field of interest. The physicians who mentor students volunteer their time because they know the significance of this research to each student’s future.

“Research for medical students teaches them to think critically and to analyze data, which they will have to do constantly when they speak to a patient or review medical records,” said Dr. Anasti. “There’s a famous saying that goes, ‘being a physician, you can help maybe 10 to 20 people at a time, but as a researcher, you can help entire populations.’ This exercise really helps students to decide what sort of impact they want to make in their future.”

Third-year Temple/St.Luke’s student Dima Khalil ‘26 plans to practice internal medicine and says that research projects allow students to gain valuable insight into how science and medicine directly interact. “Personally, this experience offered connections with other physicians and students that I otherwise would not have had, and contributing to something great to help other people,” she added. “It also teaches students the importance of lifelong learning as new research is constantly being published that changes the way we practice medicine.”