A legacy of exploring health professions

From 1989 through 2026, the Summer Health Professions Education Program (SHPEP) supported more than 32,000 college students as they explored the health professions, prepared for advanced study, and pursued careers dedicated to improving health and serving communities.

Since its inception, SHPEP and its predecessor programs have built an extraordinary legacy. More than 32,000 students have participated in the program, with more than 9,000 alumni becoming physicians and more than 2,000 becoming dentists. Many other alumni have pursued impactful careers across health care, biomedical research, education, law, and the social sciences.

Although SHPEP concluded its final summer cohort in 2026, its legacy continues through the thousands of alumni whose journeys it helped shape, as well as the institutions, partners, educators, and supporters who made the program possible.

This website has been preserved as a historical resource celebrating SHPEP’s legacy, its participants and partners, and more than three decades of contributions to the health professions.

Our History & Impact

Program News & Updates

32,000+

Alums

Alumni Stories

1989-2026

38 Years of Impact

History & Impact

11,000+

Physicians & Dentists

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Our Alumni

  • Aaron D. Dotson, MD

    Dr. Dotson participated in SMDEP at the Yale School of Medicine in 2012. He completed college at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he studied neuroscience, while minoring in music, with an emphasis in classical piano and composition. Today, Dr. Dotson is a resident Ophthalmologist at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics.

  • Alessio Barca

    Mr. Barca attended SHPEP in 2020 at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is currently a fourth-year biochemistry student at the University of Florida and plans on taking a gap year upon graduating in December 2022. During this time, Mr. Barca plans on working as a clinical research assistant and will be applying to medical school during the 2023 cycle.

  • David Graham

    Mr. David Graham participated in SHPEP in 2022 at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School. In May of 2024, he will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in cell & molecular biology. Mr. Graham serves as a SHPEP Ambassador, and has also shadowed and worked at the University Hospital Newark and Robert Wood Johnson New Brunswick University Hospital.

  • Kennedy Campbell

    Kennedy Campbell participated in SHPEP in 2021. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Health Sciences from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in May 2023. Today, she is Master of Biomedical Sciences Candidate at the University of Chicago.

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Meet Our Alums