Roosevelt Boursiquot
Born in
Haiti, Roosevelt Boursiquot is an MD/PhD candidate currently taking a leave of
absence from the PhD program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine to pursue
his medical degree at DUCOM. Roosevelt
has been preparing for this journey since high school. At Clara Barton HS in Brooklyn, he
participated in a yearlong program at CUNY City College, the Bridge to Medicine
Program. Through this program, he took
college level classes in the afternoon while fulfilling his high school degree
requirements in the morning. It was thanks
to this program that Roosevelt developed a keen interest in biomedical
research. From then on, he participated in a summer research program every year
throughout his college years.
Throughout his education,
Roosevelt has accumulated several competitive and prestigious awards, scholarships,
and fellowships. Among them are a NIH Undergraduate and Franciscan Scholarship
that fully covered his college tuition, a NIH Research Supplemental Grant that
funded his fellowship at the Rockefeller University, and NIH F31 and NIH T32 grants
that supported his PhD work. Most
recently, Roosevelt has received a 2011 National Health Science Corps (NHSC)
scholarship. This scholarship is awarded to approximately 250 students out from
more than 3,000 applicants pursuing careers in primary care.
Recipients of the NHSC in turn
agree to practice medicine in rural or urban communities upon graduation and
licensure. Roosevelt plans on returning to his Caribbean community in Brooklyn,
New York to fulfill his NHSC obligations. In addition, he plans on completing a
fellowship in oncology, cardiology, or infectious disease. Roosevelt’s long-term goal is to be involved
in academic medicine where he can continue practicing medicine while
maintaining his involvement in basic science research, two important areas for
him.