MEDICAL STUDENT RESEARCH

Office of Medical Student Research

Research opportunities

CWRU is an outstanding research institution that offers a rich environment of research opportunities in countless areas of basic, translational, clinical and population-based research, including the social and behavioral determinants of health and disease. There are numerous opportunities within the School of Medicine and Health, as well as within the other schools and faculties at CWRU. The research and scholarship component of the curriculum is focused on mentored research projects, during which a student works with a faculty member who has interests and expertise in a field that is of interest to the student and who publishes in that area.

Research asks questions and results in evidence and observations that teach us new things about the question and the field. A research project asks a question in the area of medicine that is of interest to the student. This question should be important and not yet answered, and the results should have an impact on the field and be likely suitable for publication. The question must be testable, and the project must be feasible for the time frame available to the student. The question or hypothesis to be addressed by the research project should designed by the student and the advisor working together.

Possibilities for research projects are endless. The critical criteria are that the project has a testable question or hypothesis for which a study can be designed and results can be obtained. Projects that do not constitute research and thus are not suitable for fulfilling the requirement for research and scholarship include review articles, case reports, local quality control studies, and projects focused on either humanitarian issues, volunteerism, or community service that neither ask a question nor result in potentially publishable observations in peer-reviewed journals.

Identifying an advisor and a research project can be daunting. As students progress through year 1, the first step is to identify faculty members and areas of potential interest through the routes suggested below. Then, emailing these faculty members and asking to meet and talk with them about potential projects is appropriate. Be sure to search PubMed to help understand what a faculty member does and to be sure they publish in your area of interest (see below).

Information about potential research opportunities is available through:

1. a compendium of faculty interests and potential projects for students (please see "Search" icon) that is searchable by last name, department or research topic
2. the seminar course in Foundations of Research and Scholarship, which provides information about major research concepts, programs and technologies (please see "Foundations" icon)
3. the research areas listed below and the links to faculty leading research programs in that area
4. departmental websites for the research interests of the faculty and the faculty's individual websites
5. PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Congress and the National Institutes of Health. This database includes over 16 million citations for biomedical articles from Medline and other life science journals. Links to full text articles and related resources are included. The database is searchable by author (format for searches: Smith AJ) or topic.

Particular research areas and programs include the following, each of which has a link to further information and specific investigators. These areas are only a few of the possibilities available for students, and the linked lists of faculty interests are not at all intended to be inclusive, but rather include only some of the faculty with interests in these areas:

• Heart, lung, blood or sleep disorders
• Pediatrics
• Aging
• Bioethics
• Cancer
• Infectious diseases and host defense, including global health and disease
• Renal, gastrointestinal and metabolic disorders including diabetes mellitus
• Dermatology
• Ophthalmology
• Orthopedics
• Otolaryngology
• Neuroscience, neurology and neurosurgery

This research program provides opportunities in cardiovascular, pulmonary, hematological, and sleep research with outstanding investigators who lead nationally recognized research programs in heart, lung, blood or sleep disorders. The research experiences range from fundamental molecular, cellular, and organ pathobiology to translational studies, clinical research, and population-based research. Faculty who are presently advisors in this research training program are listed at here. Additional faculty may be added. This research program is funded by the NIH, and stipends are available for interested and qualified students. Please see the "Summer research" icon and contact your society dean for more information.

This research program provides opportunities for research projects in numerous aspects of pediatrics. Faculty are based either in the Departments of Pediatrics at Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital, the Cleveland Clinic, or MetroHealth Medical Center or in other departments at CWRU. Basic, translational, clinical and population-based research is included, and faculty are listed at here. Please contact your society dean for more information.

This program provides research opportunities in the biology of aging and in geriatrics. The four areas of research include:

1. basic biology of aging
2. cognitive diseases
3. organ systems and rehabilitation in geriatric patients
4. geriatrics, health services research, and ethical issues in aging.

Faculty who are presently advisors are listed at here. Additional faculty may be included. Stipends for summer research projects may be available from the American Federation of Aging Research and the NIH. Please contact Ms. Madelon Watts and Dr. Jerome Kowal for more information.

Medical students can pursue research opportunities examining many issues in bioethics and medicine. Please see the Department of Bioethics' and contact particular faculty members or Stuart Youngner, Ph.D., Professor and Chairman at sxy2@cwru.edu.

The Case Comprehensive Cancer Center offers outstanding research programs. Please see the website for specific programs and areas of interest. Please contact faculty members directly or your society dean

This research program provides opportunities for research projects in host defense and infectious diseases that encompass basic, translational, clinical, and population-based research in six major areas:

1. diseases of the developing world
2. pathogenesis and host defense
3. antimicrobial resistance
4. microbiology and virology
5. epidemiology of infectious diseases
6. HIV/AIDS infection.

Students become full active participants in their advisor's research program and join the community interested in infection and host defense. Faculty who are presently advisors in this research training program are listed at here. Additional faculty may be added. Please contact faculty member directly or your society dean for more information.

Including Diabetes Mellitus This research program provides opportunities for research projects in many kidney diseases, disorders of the gastrointestinal tract and metabolic diseases, including diabetes mellitus. Faculty who are presently advisors in this research training program are listed at here. Contact faculty members directly or John R. Sedor, M.D. at jrs4@po.cwru.edu.

Opportunities for research in dermatological diseases numerous in the Department of Dermatology at University Hospitals of Cleveland, which is the home of the Skin Diseases Research Center and the Medical Mycology Center. Faculty include those based in this department but also in other departments and other medical centers in Cleveland. A summary of some of the faculty interests will be listed soon.

Research opportunities are available in the Center for Vision Research at University Hospitals of Cleveland and the Research Center at the Cole Eye Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. Please contact particular faculty members, Eric Pearlman, Ph.D., Professor and Director of Research at exp2@cwru.edu, or Joe Hollyfield, Ph.D. at the Cole Eye Institute at hollyfj@ccf.org.

Research opportunities are available in the Department of Orthopedics at University Hospitals of Cleveland. A partial listing will be listed soon. Please contact Ed Greenfield Ph.D. to discuss basic science research or Dan Cooperman, M.D. at for clinical science research.

The Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation Center also provides interesting research opportunities. This Center is led by Dr. P. Hunter Peckham.

The Orthopedic Biology and Bioengineering program within the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Orthopedic Research Center at the Lerner Research Institute also offer many exciting possibilities.

Research opportunities are described at here and here. Please contact Kumar Alagramam, Ph.D. for more information.

CWRU and the four affiliated medical centers offer numerous opportunities for research in basic and clinical aspects of the nervous system. The Department of Neurosciences includes many faculty leading outstanding research programs. The Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery at each medical center have websites describing research opportunities. A partial listing of investigators will be listed soon.