Gateways Summer Program Concludes with Final Symposium

The Gateways to the Laboratory Summer Program concluded at the Final Symposium. Each Gateways student gave a short talk in addition to presenting during a poster session about the work they accomplished over the 9-week summer program. Attendees included faculty sponsors and lab mentors, friends and family, Gateways alumni, and current MD-PhD students. Gateways students had also presented the week prior at the virtual Leadership Alliance National Symposium. 

Jim G. Castellanos, MD, PhD, MFA, Tri-I MD-PhD Program Alumnus served as the Keynote Speaker. Dr. Castellanos is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology at Weill Cornell Medicine, HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow, and Instructor of Clinical Investigation in the laboratory of Dr. Elaine Fuchs at The Rockefeller University/Howard Hughes Medical Institute. 

Three students were awarded for their achievements during the summer:

• Claudette Zoe Mendoza Torres was awarded the Abby Rockefeller Mauze Trust. She was mentored in Dr. Michael Overholtzer's lab at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. 
• Marissa Roundtree was awarded the Martin L. and Sarah F. Leibowitz Fellowship Award. She was mentored in Dr. Hasina Outtz Reed's lab at Weill Cornell Medical College.
• Diana Kutai was named the Andrew W. Mellon Scholar. She was mentored in Dr. Agata Smogorzewska's lab at The Rockefeller University.

The 2026 Gateways cohort was selected from over 460 applicants across the United States and Puerto Rico. Students were paired with a faculty sponsor in labs throughout Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In addition to their lab sponsor and lab mentor, each Gateways student was paired with a Big Sib, a current MD-PhD student who provided individual support as students explored the physician-scientist path. Big Sibs and office staff led Students also had opportunities to shadow in the clinic, volunteer in the community, and attend professional development workshops Dr. Gabi Rizzuto, MD, PhD, an Assistant Member at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Tri-I MD-PhD alumna, served as the Gateways Faculty Advisor.

A huge thank you to all who supported Gateways this summer!