Yancey Williams II, a junior in the UAB Department of Biomedical Engineering and UAB Honors College, is one of 20 students chosen from more than 500 undergraduates to participate in the Amgen Scholars Program at Yale University this summer. The Amgen Scholars Program provides students from diverse backgrounds with hands-on summer research experience in science and biotechnology.

Program participants receive formal didactic training, including career development workshops and journal clubs, and mentorship from Yale graduate students. Amgen Scholars have represented 52 U.S. states and territories, 75 countries, 800 colleges and universities, and had more than 4,400 participants in various research areas since 2007.
Williams will be working in the laboratory of Dr. Allan Dardik, a professor of vascular surgery, to study cellular and molecular physiology and the healing and function of blood vessels, fistulae, and vessel patches used in vascular surgery. At the end of his summer fellowship, Williams will present a research poster and oral synopsis at the closing symposium.

After graduation, Williams hopes to earn his medical degree and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering and pursue a career in research. He is confident the Amgen Scholars Program will further prepare him for success.