Georgetown Medical Student Awarded Summer Scholarship to Study Use of Mindfulness-Based Therapy for Parents of Young Children

Hyattsville, MD (June 27, 2018)—Through the Pines-Kleinman Mental Health Fund, the MedStar Health Research Institute has awarded a summer research scholarship to a Georgetown University medical student. Amanda Shapiro will be studying the use of mindfulness-based therapy for parents of young children under the mentorship of Matthew Biel, MD at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. Her research will also be supported by Stacey Kaltman, PhD, and Erin Mathis, PhD, from Georgetown University.

“There’s a lot of evidence-based medical research coming out showing that mindfulness increases health outcomes including the management of stress, which underscores a lot of psychiatric disorders as well as general well-being,” said Shapiro. “I am extremely interested in child psychiatry as that is the field that brought me to medicine in the first place. It’s an honor to be able to participate and contribute to the wide range of research happening through the Early Childhood Innovation Network at Georgetown University.”

“Our ongoing partnership with Georgetown University helps to make these summer scholarships possible,” said Neil Weissman, MD, chief scientific officer for MedStar Health and president of the MedStar Health Research Institute. “This research program helps to grow our future clinicians into ones who are committed to advancing health through research.”

The summer scholar program is an eight-week program for first-year Georgetown University medical students, under the mentorship of MedStar Health physician-researchers to help advance the students’ interests in medical research in the summer between their first and second year of medical school.

The Pines-Kleinman Mental Health fund was established in 2007 with donations from Wayne Pines, a director and former chairman of the board of the ‎MedStar Health Research Institute; Carol Kleinman, MD, JD, a practicing psychiatrist in Chevy Chase, Md.; and their family and friends. This fund supports research in the field of mental and behavioral health. The annual prize is awarded to a medical student who has demonstrated service excellence, patient-first activities, innovation, inter-hospital collaboration, and/or leadership in the field of mental health research.

Shapiro received her undergraduate degree from the University of Delaware in 2017 in philosophy and cognitive science and a minor in medical humanities. As an undergraduate, she was involved in clinical psychology research on attachment-based therapy for suicide-prevention in children and adolescents as a research assistant. She chose to participate in the summer scholars program as she “wanted the opportunity to stay involved and gain exposure to clinical research in child and adolescent psychiatry since my ultimate goal is to become a part of that field,” she said.

The Pines-Kleinman Mental Health scholarship is one of several summer research scholarships awarded to first-year medical students from Georgetown University. The summer program concludes with a capstone presentation in the fall of all the student-led research projects. The full list of summer scholars is available here.

About MedStar Health Research Institute

The MedStar Health Research Institute is the research arm of MedStar Health, the largest healthcare provider in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region. MHRI provides scientific, administrative and regulatory support for research programs throughout the MedStar Health system. MHRI’s expertise includes translational research into disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. These programs complement the key clinical services and teaching programs in the 10 MedStar hospitals and other MedStar entities. For more information, visit www.MedStarResearch.org. 

About MedStar Health

MedStar Health is a not-for-profit health system dedicated to caring for people in Maryland and the Washington, D.C., region while advancing the practice of medicine through education, innovation, and research. MedStar’s 30,000 associates, 6,000 affiliated physicians, 10 hospitals, ambulatory care and urgent care centers, and the MedStar Health Research Institute are recognized regionally and nationally for excellence in medical care. As the medical education and clinical partner of Georgetown University, MedStar trains more than 1,100 medical residents annually. MedStar Health’s patient-first philosophy combines care, compassion and clinical excellence with an emphasis on customer service. For more information, visit MedStarHealth.org.