Maria Clarke always knew she wanted to be a doctor. What she didn’t know was that studying mouse eyes in an ophthalmology lab would spark a passion for research and open a pathway to becoming a physician-scientist.
“I learned how to work with mice and do a bunch of experiments, and I really liked it,” Clarke said of her undergraduate experience at UC Davis.
After graduating with a degree in neurobiology, physiology and behavior, she took a job conducting research at UCSF, and four years later got into the UC Davis School of Medicine. She’s now in the ARC-MD pathway program, short for Academic Research Careers for Medical Doctors. Clarke, who recently completed her third year of medical school, has been named the 2026 recipient of the Daniel T. O’Connor, M.D. Memorial Research Grant (DTOC).
The prestigious grant, named for a 1974 alumnus, is given annually to a research-minded medical student who embodies O’Connor’s values: High-quality research in translational medicine, through a multi-disciplinary, highly collaborative, “bench to bedside” approach. After graduating from the UC Davis School of Medicine, O’Connor became a distinguished professor of medicine and pharmacology at UC San Diego. He was internationally known and published more than 400 journal articles before his death in 2014.
His widow Kellie Evans-O’Connor helps administer the DTOC award. The grant provides a stipend and health insurance for an academic year.
An ‘exceptional student’ with a promising future
“Maria is an exceptional student physician-scientist whose accomplishments, professionalism, drive and clear vision for a career in translational research distinguish her from her peers,” said Jennifer Rosenthal, the UC Davis School of Medicine’s executive director of research, training and development.
The award seemed perfectly timed for Clarke.
Medical students who aspire to be physician-scientists usually step aside from the classroom and conduct unpaid research for at least a year. Clarke was about to complete her third year of medical school and anxious about entering a research year she couldn’t afford.