The decrease in the number of physician investigators is a serious national problem. Direct participation in research by medical students is widely regarded as a valuable component of medical education and as a stimulus to a career in research. A voluntary summer research program was implemented at the Medical College of Ohio at Toledo with student participation exceeding 20 percent for the classes entering in 1980 and 1981 and reaching 40 percent for the freshman class that entered in 1982. The research program was planned along with implementation of a new four-year curriculum. First-year students were encouraged to participate in research projects during the summer between their first and second year. Interested students were matched with faculty members by mutual agreement. An evaluation of the program based on publications and presentations by medical students and on responses of students and faculty members to a questionnaire was made.