WKU News

Thanks to a new collaborative program between the WKU Ogden College of Science and Engineering and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus, medical students will have a new opportunity starting this summer to build their fundamental scientific skills through hands-on research alongside WKU faculty on real-world projects that impact and contribute to future advances in healthcare.

To help foster such experiences, the UK College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus and WKU Ogden College are teaming up for a unique program called the Biomedical Research Excellence Program, or BREP for short.

According to Dr. David Brown, Dean of WKU Ogden College, "Medical students benefit from research experience. It helps them develop a questioning and evidence-based approach and builds their knowledge and intuition about the fundamental science behind medicine."

Dr. Caroline Paul, Associate Dean for the UK College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus explained, “We are thrilled to launch this cross-institutional collaboration aiming to build the lens of critical inquiry for our future physicians, advance scientific research, and emphasize the importance of basic science research in the clinical practice of our physicians.”

BREP matches highly qualified medical students at the UK College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus, with faculty at WKU for mentored research experiences. The students are competitively selected during their first year in medical school. Then, each student is paired with a faculty member doing research in a field of interest. The faculty provide supervised laboratory spaces and training as the students each complete a summer research project, supported by a stipend from the UK College of Medicine.

Typically, the summer between the first and second year of medical school is the longest time that a medical student will spend away from their studies. In utilizing this time, the goal is that the relationships between mentors and mentees will be active throughout the medical school experience and that summer projects will grow into more complete research studies.

BREP formally kicked off on April 21, 2026, with a meeting at WKU to celebrate the new collaboration. The two students forming the first cohort were announced and introduced to their new research mentors.

Dr. Simran Banga, WKU Associate Professor of Biology, will mentor student, Nick Cummins on a project to understand if prolonged inflammation increases the risk of developing breast cancer among women. Aromatase, an enzyme involved in estrogen production, can be increased by inflammation, leading to increased estrogen levels and potentially elevating breast cancer risk.

Cummins’ project, with Dr. Banga’s mentorship, will examine clinical data to identify relationships between blood inflammatory marker levels and breast cancer in women. If a relationship is identified, the team will grow breast cancer cells in the lab to then treat them with inflammatory molecules and observe the effects on aromatase.

Cummins said participation in the program will help grow his understanding of the basic sciences that form the foundation of medicine.

“I think my biggest takeaway from this summer will be a better understanding of the process used to answer research questions in science,” Cummins said.

Dr. Joseph Marquardt, Assistant Professor in the WKU Department of Biological Sciences, will mentor Josiah Shackleford as he attempts to perform genetic experiments to test the ability of two different species' genes to maintain cell shape regulation. The project will investigate proteins involved in cell-shape regulation using yeast as a model organism. Findings could contribute to a better understanding of fungal infections and help identify potential targets for future treatments.

“This foundational research will help illustrate the clinical approaches to treating pathogenic fungal infections that are notoriously difficult to treat in humans," Dr. Marquardt said.

Shackleford indicated that the opportunity allows him to continue strengthening his research foundation that he can integrate into a clinical practice and potential research.  “I believe the best physicians are the ones who develop strong research skills to better evaluate evidence for decision-making or contribute to studies to advance patient care,” Shackleford said.

Building on the relationship between Western Kentucky University and the UK College of Medicine, Dr. Paul put forward an idea with a vision to advance scientific research that she and Dr. Brown developed into BREP over the course of the past year. Together, they have created meaningful research opportunities for future physicians that will benefit the community.

“This program is an important investment in our medical students,” said Dr. Deanna Morris, UK College of Medicine-Bowling Green Campus Assistant Dean of Students and Research Lead who helped guide the selection process and will serve as an advisor.  “It enhances their education through hands-on research and builds skills they will carry throughout their careers.  I look forward to many years of continued growth and research advancement through this partnership and program.”

According to Dr. Lawrence Hill of the WKU Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, who interviewed students for participation in the program, "These students are at a stage of growth where they are filled with new knowledge and potential, and this BREP experience will position them to identify research questions that need to be answered while growing their inherent excitement and motivation."

Dr. Paul summed up the program: “In the landscape of education for our students, this is a unique and stellar opportunity bridging the UK College of Medicine and a landmark university, Western Kentucky University.  Together we aim to build our physicians and scientists for our region, our state, and beyond, to impact our patients and their communities.”