EXPANSE Program

We are seeking to recruit medical students with an interest in neurosurgery and neurosurgical research attending LCME-accredited medical schools that do not have an associated home residency program for a summer research opportunity and longitudinal year-long virtual curriculum in neurosurgery. Through this program, we hope to attract new individuals into the field of neurosurgery and neurosurgical research.

Neurological disorders are a leading cause of disability and the third leading cause of death in the U.S., yet the pipeline of neurosurgeon–scientists is constrained by structural barriers in academic medicine. Although NIH funding to neurosurgery departments has grown, the number of neurosurgeon-scientists has fallen. Research exposure during medical school and residency strongly predicts later research engagement and funding, but roughly one-third of U.S. medical schools lack affiliated neurosurgery residency programs, limiting students’ access to clinical and neuroscience research. EXPANSE (EXPanding Access to Neurosurgery reSearch Education) is an NIH Science Education Program (R25) designed to fill this gap by offering immersive hands-on research training, longitudinal research education, and mentorship to medical students enrolled at LCME-accredited schools without home neurosurgery programs.

Rationale and evidence: Prior studies show that early and sustained research experiences increase the likelihood of academic careers, publications, and NIH funding. Programs such as NREF and neurosurgery R25s have correlated resident/fellow research awards with later NIH success and academic retention. Targeted early exposure and hands-on initiatives also increase interest in neurosurgery and improve perceptions of the field—effects that are especially pronounced among students who lack a home neurosurgery program.

EXPANSE is novel in targeting the US medical schools without affiliated neurosurgery residencies, whose students have shown to be disadvantaged in the residency Match. The program pairs students with one of eight regional neurosurgery centers and neurosurgeon-led laboratories for a 9–12-week immersive summer rotation.  Training centers on five neuroscience methods core competencies: 

• advanced electrophysiology/signal processing
• whole-brain imaging (rs-fMRI/MEG)
• single/multi-unit recordings and patch clamp 
• advanced microscopy (IHC/confocal/TEM)
• cell culture (murine, patient-derived, iPSC). 

Clinical shadowing, OR exposure, and attendance at neurosurgical didactics complement lab work will enhance research experiences.

This project will further establish a 12-month immersive style curriculum (1 hour/month) teaching research skills—developing research questions, IRB basics, recruitment, study design (quantitative/qualitative), data management, publication and peer review—using flipped-classroom and peer-presenter formats to maintain engagement and mentorship touchpoints. Mentorship pairs each student with both a research mentor and an academic neurosurgery career mentor; peer-mentor pods expand in later years.

Participating students will benefit from longitudinal mentoring and tracking throughout their academic journey toward becoming independent clinician-scientists. Overall, EXPANSE aims to broaden access to high-quality neuroscience research education and mentorship for medically underserved trainees, strengthen the pipeline of neurosurgeon–scientists, and improve recruitment into the neurosurgical research workforce over the next decade.

Participating Host Institutions

• University of California, San Francisco (UCSF)
• Case Western Reserve University
• University of Washington
• Ohio State University
• Baylor University
• Mayo Clinic Rochester
• Mass General Hospital

• Emory University

  Who May Apply

  Current first-year and second-year medical students attending an LCME-accredited medical school within the US that does not have an associated home residency program in neurosurgery.
  
  Note: Race, gender, sex, or other protected categories or proxies for protected categories are not used in the selection process.

  How to Apply

  Please submit your application along with the required supplemental documents here: EXPANSE Application Form. DEADLINE APRIL 13, 2026.

  Required supplemental documents:

  1) Current Curriculum Vitae 

  2) Applicant Essays: 

  • Statement of Interest (max 250 words): Please state why you are interested in this program.
  • Lived or Formative Experience (max 250 words): Please describe how your lived or formative experience(s) have led you to consider neuroscience research and/or clinical neuroscience as a career.
  • Prior Research Experience (max 250 words): Please briefly describe any prior research experience, including techniques learned and research outputs.
  • Scientific and Career Development Goals (max 250 words): Please briefly describe both scientific goals (new techniques or methods you hope to learn) and career development goals that you have for this research experience. 

  3) A signed letter from your dean certifying the dates of availability. This must be on the school or dean’s letterhead. (Letter template below.)

  [TEMPLATE]:

  Dear EXPANSE Selection Committee, 
  This letter is to certify that ______________________________ is a student in good standing at ________________________________ Medical School. We support their participation in your summer research program if selected. The available dates for participation in the summer between their ____________(1st/2nd) and ____________(2nd/3rd) year of medical school are: ____________ through ____________.

  Additionally, we will allow them time away for attendance for the K12 grant symposium occurring in the Fall and understand the program will provide dates as soon as possible.

  We certify that there is no affiliated neurosurgery residency program with our Medical School at the time of completion of this document. 

  Sincerely, 
  Print Name: ______________________________ 
  Signature: _______________________________ 
  Dean of Student Affairs