Chopra, VUSM student, selected as editor of msJAMA
Sameer Chopra, a Vanderbilt University medical student in the Medical Scientist Training Program (the combined M.D./Ph.D. program), has been selected as one of nine student editors of msJAMA, the medical student section of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Chopra was selected from more than 50 medical student applicants. The application included a resume, personal statement, 1,000-word writing sample and an editorial exercise that the staff provided.
msJAMA, one of only a few forums for the non-scientific contributions of medical student writers, is prepared by the student editors and JAMA staff and published from September through May. The students work directly with Dr. Stephen J. Lurie, a senior editor at JAMA to produce msJAMA. In addition to editing submitted articles, which are mostly written as a collaborative effort between a medical student and an expert, Chopra will be responsible for selecting topics and managing two theme issues in 2003-2004.
“I am certainly very fortunate to have this opportunity, particularly since one of my goals is to improve my writing abilities,” he said. “I find that I’m either very excited or very irritated by a constellation of issues in medicine and public health, and I’d like to be able to develop a strong and credible written voice to assert my views.”
Chopra said he hopes to continue his writing after completing his msJAMA position.
“At some point I’d also like to write for a non-scientific audience, helping to interpret important advances in biomedical science and explore their implications on the practice of clinical medicine and society.