How UW-GU Student Research is Transforming Regional Health

Ten years after launching with a vision to transform regional healthcare, the UW School of Medicine-Gonzaga University Health Partnership has built far more than a pipeline for clinical care – it has established a thriving hub for student-driven scientific discovery. Over the past decade, the Partnership has systematically expanded research opportunities across the state to empower undergraduate and medical students to tackle real-world health challenges together.

Heart Scholars Program Expands Undergraduate and Medical Student Research

The UW-GU Health Partnership has launched the Heart Institute Scholars Program, a two-year longitudinal research experience that teams up medical school and undergraduate health sciences students with physicians to conduct cutting-edge cardiothoracic research. The cohort welcomed two Gonzaga University (GU) students alongside 13 medical students, 11 from the University of Washington School of Medicine (UWSOM) and two representing regional partner institutions.

A collaboration between UWSOM, GU, and the Providence Heart Institute, the program creates a unique mentorship ladder pairing undergraduate and medical students directly with Providence cardiothoracic surgeons. Over a four-term sequence, scholars conduct high-level research, shadow surgical procedures, and gain deep clinical exposure in a hospital setting. Undergraduate students work alongside medical students on data analysis and translational research projects, building critical skills and fostering early connections to the medical school environment.

Sarah Bliss Matousek, a research advisor holding a joint faculty appointment at UWSOM and GU, said the program lives at the center of the thriving UW-GU Health Partnership.

Programs like these, housed under the Health Partnership, connect regional healthcare students across institutions and are foundational to the region's growing medical and research hub in Eastern Washington. Participating GU and UWSOM scholars plan to present their findings at a local poster session this fall and submit abstracts to major national conferences, with the ultimate goal of publishing in peer-reviewed journals.

McKinstry Climate Research Share Innovative Fire Safety and Air Quality Technologies

Through the McKinstry Fellows Research Program, UWSOM and GU students spend their summers tackling real-world health challenges while gaining critical experience for future clinical research

careers. Founded in 2022 by Dean and Vicki Allen, the program funds interdisciplinary teams of students and faculty mentors from both institutions.

In one of this year’s featured projects, innovative fire safety and air quality technologies previously utilized in Spokane community are being implemented for a Coeur d'Alene Tribe community space in a new project at the Institute for Climate, Water, and the Environment. Two Gonzaga undergraduates, public health major Nermin Omar and Environmental Studies and Sciences student Gabriel (Kai) Crouch, earned spots on the team as McKinstry Fellows.

Under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Henning, director of the Institute and Gonzaga philosophy professor, and Dr. Sarah Bliss Matousek, joint faculty member at GU’s School of Health Sciences and UWSOM, the team set out to install air quality sensors inside and outside the building. A customized dashboard, designed as a senior capstone project in Gonzaga’s School of Engineering and Applied Science, will serve as an accessible monitoring system for tribe members and the research team, who will continue collecting and analyzing data remotely.

Omar and Crouch have also developed a survey to evaluate community response to the project. The students plan to produce a manuscript detailing their findings this fall.

Hands-On Discovery: GU Researchers Partner with UW Seattle Laboratories

The seventh cohort of the UW-GU Health Partnership's Summer Biomedical Research Program welcomed eight GU undergraduates to Seattle this year. The students, members of the Classes of 2027 and 2028, are all pursuing degrees in the biomedical, biological, or public health sciences.

Each student is paired with a UW Seattle lab, connecting them to an extensive network of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, physicians, and principal investigators.

Michael Martin, a rising senior and biochemistry major at Gonzaga, joined the Simpson Lab in UW's Department of Dermatology. After participating in the research experience last summer, Martin returned to the lab to lead experiments he designed. Under the direction of Dr. Cory Simpson at UW and with guidance from Gonzaga biology professor Dr. Kristen Skruber, his research focuses on Hailey-Hailey disease, a rare genetic condition that causes chronic blistering of the skin.

Martin's work exemplifies how the Health Partnership expands educational resources and research access for students across the state. As the UW-GU Health Partnership celebrates its 10-year milestone, it remains committed to broadening interdisciplinary research opportunities that unite faculty and students in advancing healthcare discovery.