"My experience in the Stanford CVI Summer Research Program gave me invaluable opportunities to explore novel aspects of my longstanding interest in cardiovascular research while also taking the time to engage in thoughtful conversations with outstanding peers and mentors. Moreover, I’m tremendously grateful for my experience because two years later, several of my closest and dearest friends remain some of the people I met at Stanford during that transformative summer."

"As part of the Stanford CVI Summer Research Program, I was assigned to work on a research project with a team of cardiothoracic surgeons. My first time in the operating room was equal parts astonishing and challenging. It was clear that the team worked together like a well-oiled machine but I didn’t quite know how I could contribute. Understanding anatomy in great depth is also crucial for surgery and at that point, I didn’t have a great grasp of neurovasculature. However, over the course of the summer, I became more comfortable with asking questions while in the OR and taking the time to learn the required anatomical knowledge helped me tremendously."

"One of the most surprising things I learned about myself during the program was that my research interests were much broader and interdisciplinary than I previously thought. This invaluable discovery enabled me to start medical school with a completely different perspective. In fact, this open mindedness, which stems in part from my experience during the CVI program, encouraged me to pursue a master’s degree in legal studies at the UCLA School of Law while concomitantly completing my M.D. Suffice to say, I’m excited to see where my ever-expanding academic interests take me next!"

"The program provided me with opportunities to gain more perspective on what working at the intersection of medicine and research entails. Learning from a team of cardiothoracic surgeons and being in the OR while coronary artery bypass and mitral valve replacement surgeries were performed showed me that teamwork is at the heart of medicine and research. Altogether, my experiences in the program solidified my intent to pursue a career in medicine in the hopes of providing excellent clinical care while also engaging in scholarly work in the hopes of helping improve the health outcomes of patients."

"As part of my time in the Stanford CVI Summer Research Program, I listened to a myriad of research talks given by faculty members at Stanford on topics ranging from how the heart’s coronary vessels develop during embryogenesis to human-induced pluripotent stem cells. I would advise all future students in the research program to engage with the material presented in all of these lectures with a voracious curiosity because accumulating more knowledge, even on topics that seem unrelated to your current interests, only has the potential to benefit you in the future."