Thorkil Jensen Award Recognizes Academic Excellence

An active traveler, tennis player, and medical student, Jason Lepse holds a bachelors degree in chemistry and is currently working on his medical degree. While studying at the University of Kansas School of Medicine, Jason Lepse won numerous awards, including the Thorkil Jensen Award for Excellence in the Inflammation and Immunity Module.

Every year, the University of Kansas Medical Center Department of Microbiology recognizes students who have excelled in their academic performance related to the study of infectious diseases. Dr. Thorkil Jensen, who was a member of the department for more than 30 years, was a microbiology professor at the college as well as its former dean of admissions.

The two modules that are included in the microbiology department’s curriculum include the inflammation and immunity module and the infectious diseases module. The objectives within the program are meant to help prepare a graduate student for medical residency and a subsequent career in medicine.

Serve in the Dominican Republic as an Intern with Corazon del Siervo

Jason Lepse conducts research in the department of Otolaryngology- Head and Neck Surgery while completing his studies at the University of Kansas Medical Center. Previously, Jason Lepse undertook a premedical internship with Corazon del Siervo.

Founded by Drs. Francisco and Diane Sabado as a full-time mission organization in 1999, Corazon del Siervo (literally “Heart of Service”) provides medical assistance to those in need. Originally, the founders became involved in medical missions. Then they felt moved to remain in the Dominican Republic and serve those whom the hospitals turned away.

Today, students can follow in the Sabados’ footsteps by making mission trips with Corazon del Siervo. If they feel called to continue service for a longer period of time, they can apply for an internship. Internships vary in length, from as short as a month to as long as a year.

Corazon del Siervo has provided interns in the fields of allopathy and osteopathy with research opportunities. Many of these students have published articles from their research. Internship applicants need not have medical experience, however. The organization also offers internships in fields such as administration, marketing, and teaching and child program coordination, among others.