Terrance Kummer, MD, PhD, has been named Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research and Scholarship at Washington University School of Medicine. Dr. Kummer is currently the Director of EXPLORE, a longitudinal program that helps WashU MD students find and explore their academic niche in medicine. Dr. Kummer will continue in this role while also assuming broader responsibility for student scholarly experiences within the Gateway Curriculum. In this new role Dr. Kummer succeeds Dean Koong-Nah Chung, who retired on January 3rd after nearly three decades serving the medical community.
“I am excited to deepen my ties to the medical students at Washington University by leading the Office of Medical Student Research and Scholarship. The collaboration between Dean Chung and current and former students propelled growth and individual accomplishment that can only be described as remarkable. Remembering my own experience as her mentee, I am grateful to have the chance to do the same for future generations of students,” remarked Dr. Kummer.
Dr. Kummer is a native of the upper Midwest who completed his MD and PhD degrees at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM 2006). After residency and fellowship training at Mass General Brigham in neurology and neurocritical care, Dr. Kummer returned to Washington University in 2012. Since this time, he’s run a basic-translational laboratory studying the connections between brain trauma and neurodegenerative conditions and worked as a clinical neurointensivist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He joined the EXPLORE Program in 2022.
Kummer will organize and oversee the conduct of medical student scholarship. Recognizing the growth and importance of scholarship domains beyond traditional biomedical research, the OMSR will be renamed the Office of Medical Student Research and Scholarship (OMSRS). With the same objective he will work to bring EXPLORE and OMSRS into close alignment, ensuring medical students experience a similar suite of advising, support services and opportunities regardless of their interests. OMSRS will move under Dr. Nichole Zehnder, who will lead a new unit encompassing academic support and career development, including UME coaching, UME and GME learner success, and School of Medicine disability resources.
“Dr. Kummer’s expertise as a physician-scientist and mentor, combined with his deep commitment to students, make him the ideal leader for this role. I’m excited to see how his leadership will continue, and expand, the integration of scholarly activities into the fabric of our students’ academic journeys, empowering them to pursue meaningful contributions to medicine and science,” says Dr. Zehnder.
For students who would like to contact or meet with Dr. Kummer, please email the department at OMSRS@wustl.edu.