MENTOR GUIDELINES FOR THE RWJMS DISTINCTION IN RESEARCH (DIR) PROGRAM*

Transcription

1 MENTOR GUIDELINES FOR THE RWJMS DISTINCTION IN RESEARCH (DIR) PROGRAM* The Distinction in Research Program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is a prestigious program that provides medical students with an opportunity to obtain instruction from faculty members on how to design and conduct original research and analyze and publish their results. For many students, this is the first step on the way to becoming independent investigators. The goal of the program is to provide instruction on how to: a. identify a scientific question & develop a testable hypothesis b. formulate a specific aim(s) c. design a research plan d. analyze data e. compose scholarly manuscripts. The program is not for every student, but for those who want to carry out an intensive research study in which they will assume a significant level of responsibility. This work will be performed under the direction of a Mentor. The following criteria must be met: 1. The application form with all pertinent, up-to-date IRB/IACUC information must be completed and signed by the student and mentor. IRB/IACUC protocol documentation must be submitted and protocols cannot be expired. In addition to identifying the mentor, applicants can suggest two RWJMS faculty members who have relevant expertise and are willing to participate in advising the student on the proposed project. If the mentor is an RWJMS faculty member, at least one of these additional faculty advisors should be outside the mentor s department, if possible. Application deadlines are March 01 or August 01 of every year. 2. The application is in the form of a research proposal divided into two sections as follows: PART I Research Plan (up to 7 pages) A. Abstract (150 words of less) B. Introduction/background/significance C. Hypothesis to be tested (include the rationale leading to the hypothesis) D. Specific Aims E. Preliminary data (not required, provide only if obtained by the student) F. Research plan G. Methods (experimental and data analysis. For clinical studies, be sure to include statistical analysis and methodologies utilized) H. Human Subjects Research -- include the following: 1. Human subject involvement and characteristics 2. Sources of materials 3. Potential risks

2 4. Recruitment and informed consent 5. Protection against risk I. References (up to 2 pages) Part II Student Role and Timeline (up to 2 pages) A. Research Team (If applicable) 1. Describe others working on the Research Project 2. Include Names, Titles, and Roles of others B. Student Role Detailed description of student s role to include: 1. Description of activities and time spent in sample preparation, data generation or data collection (e.g. specific laboratory experiments) 2. Description of the nature of the contact with human subjects, if applicable (e.g. student conducting interviews, student preparing survey instruments, student analyzing data received from another source) 3. Description of training activities or formal coursework that student might engage in while participating in DIR (other than medical school coursework), if applicable 4. Include amount of time student expects to spend on all of these activities C. Timeline of Research Project with appropriate milestones 1. Experimental design and optimization 2. IRB preparation and approval, if applicable 3. Human subject participant selection and enrollment, if applicable 4. Data collection and analysis 5. Preparation of final report/publication D. Human Subjects/Animal Describe plans for obtaining approval for proposed work. Applications must be written by the student and should be no longer than a total of 9 single-spaced pages for both Parts I and II. Documents should have minimum one inch margins and a type font size >11. The Research Project should include an overview (abstract) of the project and a specific description of the methods, including (as appropriate) the number and type of subjects and the statistical methods used to determine the number of subjects required for the study and the analysis of the data. The proposal should take into account the power of the statistical test(s) being used to detect significant effects. The proposal should also discuss the potential difficulties and limitations of the proposed procedures and alternative approaches to achieve the aims. Whether the project is in the area of basic science, clinical medicine, translational research, epidemiology, outcomes research, or health policy, it should be hypothesisdriven, rather than purely descriptive reporting of observations. The following are examples of what is not acceptable for admission to the DIR program, although they may provide some students with a worthwhile research experience: a. those that are purely technical in nature, requiring the student to perform a single assay b. those that do not involve testing a scientific question

3 c. chart reviews d. literature reviews 3. A letter, signed by the mentor and on letterhead, must accompany the student s application. It must describe or confirm the following: a. the student s role in the proposed work b. the scientific merit of the project c. that the proposal has been written primarily by the student d. that the work can be accomplished within the proposed time frame e. plans for any paper reporting the proposed research and authorship expectations, especially for the student It is expected that the student will carry out the majority of the experiments him/herself and will take primary responsibility for writing the manuscript. In the case where the student contributes to a multi-investigator project precluding first authorship, then the student may submit a written research report for evaluation, as described under Requirements. 4. The student must submit a biographical sketch in CV/resume format. 5. Mentors must provide their CV along with the student s application. 6. The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School DIR Parent Committee will make the final decision on proposal acceptance. After acceptance, each student will be afforded the guidance of a three-person DIR Student Advisory Committee (DIR SAC) that will meet at the initiation of the project to review the research plan and provide guidance and feedback. The committee will consist of the student s research mentor, another RWJMS faculty member (typically suggested by the mentor and/or the student), and a member of the DIR committee who will act as the DIR Liaison. 7. Once a student is accepted into the program, the DIR SAC is assigned and formally notified. The student should meet with this committee within 1 month of acceptance into the program, document the meeting on the DIR SAC Initial Meeting Form, and submit the signed completed form to the Office of Research and Sponsored programs. This meeting will assure the student is aware of the requirements of the program and provide scientific feedback to assist the student in completing the DIR program. We prefer that the meeting be in person, but other arrangements may be made with the consent of the DIR SAC. 8. Students should be encouraged to apply for extramural funding from foundations or professional societies to support their work, since this will provide them an introduction to grant-writing skills. However, this is not obligatory. 9. Students are expected to interface with their mentors on a regular basis. Students are also expected to meet (either in person, by phone or by ) with their DIR Liaison at least twice per year once in advance of the March 01 DIR deadline and once in advance

4 of the August 01 DIR deadline. It is the student s responsibility to make contact with their DIR Liaison. Students are sent frequent reminders of this obligation. Meetings with the DIR Liaison are mandatory; failure to keep their DIR Liaison updated on their progress may result in a student being dropped from the DIR program. 10. In addition to keeping their DIR Liaison informed of their progress, students conducting multi-year projects must meet at least annually with their full DIR SAC. Students may document this meeting using the DIR SAC Interim Meeting Form, which should be submitted to the Office of Research and Sponsored programs once complete. Completion of the Interim Meeting Form is not mandatory; however, we urge students to meet with their SACs at regular intervals (at least once per year) in advance of either the March 01 or August 01 DIR deadline. This will allow students to receive valuable scientific feedback on their DIR projects from faculty experts and ensure students make adequate progress to complete the program requirements in a timely fashion. Students must still keep their DIR Liaisons apprised of their progress as per item #9 above. 11. It is expected that all research conducted by RWJMS students is in compliance with all federal, state, local and university laws, policies, and guidelines. Students must provide both their DIR SAC and the RWJMS Research Office with the appropriate documentation of all required approvals for their research, such as IRB and IACUC protocol approvals. Students will not be able to earn the DIR designation if the Research Office cannot confirm that the research was conducted under required approvals. 12. Students are expected to produce a suitable final written scholarly product in order to graduate with the DIR designation. This product can take one of the following forms: a) An accepted peer-reviewed journal article with the student as first author b) A submitted peer-reviewed journal article with student as first author (with a copy of the letter of submission to the journal should be included) c) A written report (15-20 pages, single spaced) written by the student which includes an expanded literature review and research methods, results and discussion section. 13. Once the project is complete and the above documents are in hand, the student should submit the written product along with the mentor letter to the DIR SAC for review. The student must meet with the DIR SAC to review the work and complete the SAC Final Evaluation Form. In the case of a written report, 11c above, the DIR SAC will decide if the report qualifies the student for graduation with Distinction in Research. The SAC can ask a student to modify the written work before the DIR SAC will accept it and sign the SAC Final Evaluation Form. We prefer that this final meeting be in person but other arrangements can be made upon approval by the student s DIR SAC. 14. An electronic copy of the final written product, the mentor letter and a hard copy of the signed completed SAC Final Evaluation Form must be submitted to the RWJMS Office of Research and Sponsored Programs by March 01 or August 01 to be considered for final approval by the DIR Parent Committee. Note that to graduate with the DIR

5 designation, students must submit all written products, letters and the fully-executed SAC Final Evaluation Form by March 01 of their graduation year. 15. Students who would like their Dean s letter to include a statement indicating that they will graduate with Distinction in Research must complete items by August 1st of their graduation year. The final deadline for completion of the program and submission to the RWJMS Office of Research and Sponsored Programs is March 1 of the student s graduation year. 16. Mentors will be asked to comment on the student s performance for the purpose of the Unique Characteristics section of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE). 17. Graduation with Distinction in Research will be noted on the student s diploma and also on the graduation program. *Adapted from the Mount Sinai Medical School Web Site with the kind permission of Dr Karen Zier, Associate Dean for Student Research at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.