Infectious diseases continue to threaten individual human health and shape human populations. There is a strong and persistent need for a multidisciplinary workforce in infectious disease (ID) research, but the supply remains insufficient. The TRIDENT program-Trans-disciplinary Research in Infectious Diseases to Engage Third Year Medical Students-is designed to meet this need.
The TRIDENT program augments the current research experience for third-year medical students (MS3s) pursuing projects focused on the prevention, diagnosis, pathogenesis, or treatment of infectious diseases. As TRIDENT Scholars, students will benefit from:
- A partial scholarship for their research year
- An interdisciplinary research mentorship committee
- Funds to support career development activities, project expenses, or research dissemination
- Career development seminars focused on physician-scientist training
- A short-course introducing students to the R programming language
Eligibility
Candidates: Eligible participants must be: i) third-year MD students at Duke, and ii) because the program is NIH funded, either a citizen or permanent resident of the United States.
Projects: Must be focused on the prevention, diagnosis, pathogenesis, or treatment of infectious diseases.
Mentors: Mentors must be eligible to serve as third-year mentors through the Duke School of Medicine(SoM).
Application Details
The TRIDENT 2026 application cycle is now closed. Applications for TRIDENT and other internal scholarships for Duke third-year medical students will reopen in fall 2026 for the 2027 cycle.
Please contact the TRIDENT program at trident@duke.edu to express your interest in the scholarship or to learn about potential mentors before submitting a formal application. Applications should be submitted through the Duke School of Medicine’s internal scholarship system.
The TRIDENT program is supported by an award from the US National Institutes of Health (R25AI191201).
