AVONDALE, Arizona – Nathanial Belnap, a 23-year-old, May 2012 honors graduate of Estrella Mountain Community College (EMCC), had the opportunity to experience an exclusive internship during the summer at the Banner Sun Health Research Institute that he calls “life-changing.”
Belnap first visited Banner Sun Health Research Institute as part of an Honors project on Alzheimer’s for Andrea Simpkins’ Developmental Psychology class at EMCC. “The intellectual spark was there and my goal was to get an EMCC student into neuroscience research at Banner” said Simpkins. With Belnap in mind, Simpkins contacted Landis Elliott, EMCC’s Manager of Internships, who then contacted the Institute about application procedures. Belnap was one of seventeen students chosen from a national applicant pool of 400, and was only the second community college student to ever be accepted into the program.
The Banner Sun Health Research Institute Summer Internship Program provides interns the opportunity to work and learn alongside nationally renowned physicians and researchers, specifically in the areas of Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, arthritis, cardiovascular, prostate cancer and orthopedics. The program’s goal is to inspire students to not only embrace science and/or medicine as a career choice, but to also encourage them to continue scientific research throughout their academic careers.
Recipients included students from top universities including ASU, UA, Notre Dame, University of Pittsburgh, University of the Redlands and Albert Einstein Medical School. At the Institute, Belnap and partnering internship recipient Victoria Woo presented their study titled, “What is the Relationship Between Subjective Memory Complaints and Objective Cognitive Testing.” The study involved assessing the relationship between short term memory loss and Alzheimer’s Disease.
“This internship experience transformed my outlook on what it is it like to work in the medical field as a novice researcher. But mostly, it made me realize that I want to continue on this path and pursue medical school. It was a life changing experience,” said Belnap.
Now pursuing dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and biology at ASU, he is working towards his goal of going to medical school or into a Medical Scientist Training Program. “I would like to go into the field of psychiatric genetics to study the role of genetics in inherited psychological disorders,” said Belnap. “I would like to work and practice in a hospital psychiatric ward, and eventually teach and do research at a university.”
As a United States Air Force veteran, Belnap’s interest in helping people extends beyond serving his country. He wants to help individuals who struggle with psychological disorders from a clinical perspective, and to research why the disorders occur. His veterans’ educational benefits have allowed him to pursue his educational and career goals that will undoubtedly allow him to continue to generously serve others.