After COVID Cancellation, Student Gets Second Chance at Med School Fellowship

Last year, senior biomedical physics of medicine major Bella Salerno was looking forward to her summer vacation for reasons other than getting out of town.

Salerno had been accepted to the Purdy Summer Research Fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine’s department of radiation oncology and was looking forward to the experience of delving deeper into a subject she’s grown to love.

“One of the reasons for choosing my major has been my love for both math and science,” she said. “I found that physics really encompasses both the how and why aspect of science.”

In addition to already being drawn to the subjects, Salerno said she has also received a lot of encouragement and help from Rockhurst’s faculty, including Nancy Donaldson, Ph.D., professor of physics, who played a pivotal role in letting her know about the fellowship in the first place.

“She sent it to me and said ‘I think you’d be perfect for this,’” she said.

During the eight-week fellowship, students are assigned to a projects that relate to their area of interest and conduct research alongside a medical physicist.

Unfortunately, like many other summer break plans, Salerno never got the chance to take part.

“Due to the pandemic, the fellowship was canceled,” she said. “I applied again this year, and I am so thankful that I was accepted a second time.”

Though this summer’s fellowship is currently scheduled to be held remotely, Salerno said she is still excited for the chance to not only meet other students interested in medical physics, but to learn more about careers in the field from those in it.

“I am extremely excited to be working alongside other students and professionals that share my love for physics,” she said. “I believe this will be an amazing and rewarding experience.”