The aim of this training program is to continue to produce physician-scientists who will advance understanding of human health and disease and enhance delivery of effective clinical care. The Iowa Medical Student Research Program achieves this goal through fostering innovation, professional scientific interactions, mentorship, training in research ethics and communication and development of a critical approach to one's own and peers' scientific work. The University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine (CCOM) has a long history supporting medical student research with a successful and growing research- training program that began over 40 years ago. The NIH has continuously funded the program since 1980. Under the auspices of the training grant, students are given the opportunity to be involved in a research project of their choosing for 12 weeks in the summer preceding or following the first year of medical school. Students choose a mentor from any of 20 clinical and 6 basic science departments in the Carver College of Medicine, or the Colleges of Public Health, Pharmacy, or Liberal Arts and Sciences. Over 150 faculty mentors with ideas for short-term projects are listed on a searchable online database from which students may sort options by department, type of research or by keyword. Students are required to submit a proposal, which is competitively reviewed by the Research Committee of the CCOM. Student applications are rank- ordered by the score received and those with the best scores are chosen for the 32 NIH training stipends with another 50 stipends funded by the CCOM, individual departments and other sources. The program exposes the students to the entire research process, from writing a research proposal, to working with their mentor to submit their research accomplishments in the form of an abstract and presentation of their research at the annual Medical Student Research Day. This experience permits students to acquire skills such as application of scientific methods, critical evaluation of previous related experimental work, and statistical approaches to data analysis. At the same time, they acquire knowledge and develop skills related to a specific research project while working closely with a faculty role model and mentor. The program has led to a substantial number of student presentations at national meetings and numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals. There has been steady interest in continuing involvement in research throughout medical school on the Research Distinction Track, an honors program for CCOM students with a sustained commitment to research. Graduates repeatedly cite the summer research fellowship experience as the basis for their choice of specialty or decision to conduct basic, clinical or translational research as faculty in academic medical centers. The long-term impact of this program is the nationwide dissemination of a cadre of physicians, who developed an appreciation for team-based science early in their career, equipping them to make evidence-based decisions and advance healthcare quality.
Early exposure to research is a key component to increasing the number of physician-scientists. This research training fellowship has been instrumental in promoting medical student research for over 30 years, featuring highly engaged faculty mentors, and providing an experience that is considered highly valuable by an overwhelming percentage of participants. Participation in the fellowship is the usual first step to the research distinction track, which honors students who participate in biomedical research throughout medical school. It is also cited by many graduates as the basis for their choice of specialty and decision to pursue clinical or basic research in academic medicine.
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