Dr. Michael Everest has been described by many as an “earth angel” for his work in medicine as well as his mission to advance medical research on a global scale through his philanthropic initiatives. As the chairman of both the Everest Foundation and the Resident Medical Group, Dr. Michael Everest is leveling the playing field for medical students across the world.
Dr. Michael Everest named the non-profit after his late father, Edwin Everest, who lived with a passion for helping others through medical research. In his name and with his mentality, the Everest Foundation assists medical students with barriers to entry and overcoming these obstacles to achieve their research goals and ultimately contribute to the greater good.
The foundation operates according to the principal importance of medical research, so let’s examine the reasons for which medical research is crucial to the development of medicine and how Dr. Michael Everest’s foundation is helping the cause.
What is Medical Research?
Medical research consists of a combination of information-based research and clinical trials. Medical research advances the knowledge with which doctors, medical students, and other medical professionals conduct their work. It is the driving factor behind every medical advancement and breakthrough in history.
The Everest Foundation’s slogan is “part of the cure,” as their involvement in helping promote medical research has and will continue to contribute to finding cures for the many medical questions we face.
The importance of medical research extends beyond the medical field as it impacts our daily lives and those of our loved ones. Its reach is global and imperative.
How the Everest Foundation Contributes to Medical Research
Dr. Michael Everest’s organization is the only non-profit encouraging medical research in the Graduate Medical Education area, specifically. They promote education by funding innovative medical research and expanding the reach of residency training programs to provide for communities in need.
The foundation’s focus on funding education speaks to the adage, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime”. The Everest Foundation’s creation of teaching hospitals in vulnerable parts of the US encourages learning in parts of the country that may not otherwise have access to such resources. With more medical research being conducted and more researchers involved, the breadth of discovery is expanded.
Finally, Dr. Michael Everest’s Foundation engages with the “Residency Bottleneck” issue. This is the phenomenon that only 29% of medical school graduates have relevant research experience when applying for residency. This means too many medical school students are graduating with very little time spent researching innovative ideas and concepts. As medical students have fresh minds as compared to many older doctors and medical professionals, this lack of exposure to medical research is somewhat of a missed opportunity to advance medical science.
By providing more opportunities for students to conduct medical research throughout their residency training programs, the Everest Foundation is helping produce generations of doctors with keen minds who approach their work by asking questions and seeking solutions.
How the Everest Foundation Operates
The foundation, chaired by Dr. Michael Everest himself, runs through partnerships with local institutions as well as through private donations. With these funds, the Everest Foundation can cultivate a community of researchers conducting exceptional studies and paving the way for those that are to follow.
Forward-thinking through Medical Research
Through gifts, grants, and research studies, as well as funding for publishing medical research findings, the Everest Foundation is continuing to assist scholars, professors, and professionals in their research pursuits.
With these programs, the Everest Foundation is supporting ground-breaking medical research in some crucially important areas, including the following:
- Artificial pancreatic transplant research
- Reproductive research
- Women’s health
- Infectious disease
- In-vitro fertilization research
- Gastrointestinal
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Addiction
These areas of research just scratch the surface of the myriad of topics the Everest Foundation is supporting both directly and indirectly through their programs. There are an infinite number of areas to be discovered and many problems that could potentially be cured.
Global Reach and Changing the Medical Research Landscape
The Everest Foundation believes in the power of education. In addition to the non-profit, Dr. Michael Everest chairs the Resident Medical Group, which provides opportunities for students to enrich their learning and medical school experience through various training programs. With these opportunities, students can better access the residencies that will further propel their careers.
Medical research is a catalyst of change in many ways. Various diseases, illnesses, and accidents that once killed people can now be solved easily due to the work of medical researchers. The Everest Foundation and Dr. Michael Everest himself operate according to the idea that research can lead to solutions that can change people’s lives, a valiant belief by any standard.
