A memorial from decades past still helps the living today.

The Samuel J. Roessler Research Scholarship provides financial assistance to Ohio State students performing medical research to alleviate human disease. The trust was established by Anna J. Roessler in October 1957 in memory of her son, Samuel. The first stipends went to students in 1958, according to Kristen Urmson, student administrative assistant.

The program selects students through a process that includes an application, a letter of recommendation from an adviso,r and an outline of the type of research the student would like to pursue. A committee of at least five faculty members reviews the applications before making recommendations.

The recommendations are made to James S. King, associate dean and director of the College of Medicine and Public Health. Students are notified by mail if they are chosen.

Dr. King said the selection comes down to what the students plan on studying. The students are all qualified. It’s the type and quality of the research being proposed that’s evaluated.

About 75 percent of the applicants receive some type of funding, Urmson said. The stipend is $1000 for a full-time researcher. Part-time researchers receive money on a per-hour basis. About 50 students apply each March for the summer term, the most popular of the terms.

Generally, the students begin their research the summer after their first year of medical school. Some of the research areas include cancer, spinal cord injury, and heart and lung disease.

The research the students conduct is very important to the university and to the student’s scholastic future, Dr. King said.

“I think it has a huge impact on the development of a physician researcher. In many cases, it’s the first experience that a student has in research,” Dr. King said.

Nan Bond, former administrative assistant to Assistant Dean Dr. Brad Stokes, remembered a particular student who was positively affected by the assistance. The student had asked her who he could thank for the Roessler program, because it helped him have the chance to become a researcher in addition to a surgeon.

“[The program] shows the medical students there is something else to their degree besides being a clinician,” Bond said.