Young/Gatz Fellowship

The Young/Gatz Academic Emergency Medicine Fellowship (Summer 2026)

Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Site: University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC)

This immersive summer opportunity is designed for Ohio Wesleyan students who intend to apply to medical school and who would benefit substantially from structured, mentored clinical exposure paired with authentic research at a major academic medical center.

Based in the heart of Baltimore, Maryland, the experience is hosted by David Gatz (Class of 2010), M.D. (CV PDF), an emergency physician and assistant professor at the University of Maryland Medical Center. This immersive summer opportunity is designed for Ohio Wesleyan students who intend to apply to medical school and who would benefit substantially from structured, mentored clinical exposure paired with authentic research at a major academic medical center.

The fellowship is made possible through the Lawrence E. Young (Class of 1935), M.D. Endowed Fund, established in 1994 to support influential summer experiences for students preparing for health-related careers. By bridging the OWU community with one of the nation's premier teaching hospitals in Baltimore, this program reflects Ohio Wesleyan's commitment to high-impact, real-world preparation for future medical leaders.

Program Goals

• Provide sustained, high-quality clinical shadowing in an academic emergency department
• Engage students in original emergency medicine research with the expectation that their work could lead to scholarly publication
• Expose students to medical education and training culture (medical students, residents, grand rounds, departmental didactics)
• Support students whose preparation for medical school would be meaningfully strengthened by access to clinical environments

Eligibility

Applicants must be currently enrolled OWU students who:

• Intend to apply to medical school
• Expect to graduate in 2027 or 2028
• Will be available for a minimum of eight weeks during Summer 2026 (May-July)
• Are willing to participate in both clinical shadowing and research
• Commit to present their work at the Summer Scholarship and Research Symposium at the OWU Connection Conference in September of 2026.

Program Components

Clinical Shadowing:

• Approximately two 8-hour emergency department shifts per week
• Adult Emergency Department at a quaternary academic medical center
• Structured reflection through a short clinical journal

Research:

• Participation in an original emergency medicine research project
• Likely topics include ED operations and/or pulmonary embolism
• Goal of producing scholarly work suitable for peer-reviewed publicationPrior research experience not required

Medical Education Exposure:

• Observation of medical student and resident training in real time
• Possible attendance at weekly emergency medicine didactic conferences

Funding

The selected student will be awarded a $6,000.00 lump-sum stipend , provided as an educational support grant to facilitate their immersion in clinical shadowing and research. This funding is intended to offset the personal costs of travel, transportation, and room and board associated with this learning opportunity and is not considered compensation for labor or services rendered.

Ohio Wesleyan will assist the student in identifying potential housing options in the Baltimore area; however, housing and transportation arrangements are ultimately the student's responsibility.

Application Review

The overarching review philosophy will focus on identifying a student for whom this specific combination of clinical access and mentored research would be transformational at this stage of their preparation.