Shaping diverse future leaders in gastroenterology

The Young Guts Scholar Program is sponsored by the Dr. Harvey Young Education & Development Foundation in collaboration with the American Gastroenterology Association. The program provides a yearlong scholarship for undergraduate students from racial, ethnic, or other groups that are traditionally underrepresented in biomedical research to perform mentored research related to digestive diseases throughout the academic year with the hope of encouraging them to pursue careers in medicine or science. The ultimate goal is to produce a more diverse and inclusive pipeline of healthcare providers and investigators in digestive disease research.

Young Guts Scholars are undergraduate college students with at least one year remaining from all over the U.S. Their mentors are prominent Gastroenterology faculty members throughout the U.S. Each scholar spends an entire year in their mentor’s research program, offering a much more robust experience than the more common summer student programs that last for only ten weeks.

Since our inaugural year, we have seen over 80% of Young Guts Scholars complete college, with more than half of those continuing their studies at elite medical institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Case Western, Texas SW, Miami and Yale; or in doctoral programs at institutions including the University of Pennsylvania, NYU, and Columbia. Young Guts Scholars have also presented their research work at the Digestive Disease Week, the prestigious annual international meeting of the American Gastroenterology Association. We are so proud of their accomplishments, and honored to support more scholars like them each year.

Learn more about the Young Guts Scholar Program criteria or apply for a scholarship here.