Year-Long Research Program

Overview: The Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) Program provides high-quality, multidisciplinary training in clinical research to promote the successful career development of clinical investigators. The MSCI is available to postdoctoral scholars, junior faculty and predoctoral students enrolled in established clinical research training programs. Postdoctoral scholars and junior faculty must be within the medicine and allied health professions, conducting clinical research at Washington University or with an affiliated program. Predoctoral students in medicine, psychology, biology and biomedical sciences, social work, audiology, physical therapy, occupational therapy and related disciplines in the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences who have completed or are enrolled in the intensive Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Clinical Research Training (PICRT) Program are also eligible.

Requirements: The master’s program consists of 33 credits and includes the following core curriculum in clinical investigation:

• Designing Outcomes and Clinical Research or Epidemiology for Clinical Research
• Ethical and Legal Issues in Clinical Research
• Intermediate Statistics for the Health Sciences
• Introduction to Statistics for Clinical Investigation
• Scientific Writing and Publishing or Grantsmanship

Scholars also:

• Conduct independent research under the tutelage of a mentorship committee
• Participate in an ongoing seminar series to present and discuss research as a work-in-progress
• Take elective course work related to their research interests
• Submit a final thesis consisting of a clinical research manuscript submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication

Advanced placement credit can be earned for past equivalent course work as determined on an individual basis up to 9 credit hours.

Tuition: Tuition for the academic year is $1,150 per credit hour. Courses are open to all paying students. Trainees currently enrolled in other medicine and allied health programs should contact the program director or program coordinator to discuss entry into the MSCI program.

Location: Most courses and seminars are taught during late afternoon or early evening hours on the Medical School campus.

Further Information: For more information regarding this program, please contact:

Angela Wilson
Curriculum and Evaluation Coordinator
voice: (314) 454-8936
email: abwilson@dom.wustl.edu
website: http://crtc.wustl.edu

Students enrolled in the MSCI program may apply for a stipend through the following fellowship.

Overview: The Clinical Research Training Center (CRTC) Predoctoral Clinical Research Training Program TL1-Intensive provides medical and allied health students with a one-year mentored clinical or translational research experience, didactic course work and career development seminars. As a core educational component of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Sciences (ICTS) at Washington University, the CRTC Predoctoral Program strives to:

• Promote clinical and translational research training for medical and allied health care predoctoral students.
• Create an efficient entry into a variety of clinical research careers.
• Allow flexibility to develop novel and unique clinical and translational research projects.

This is a year-long, pull-out program.

Eligibility and Requirements: Doctoral-degree students in medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy, biomedical engineering, pharmacy, audiology and communications sciences and other allied health professions who wish to pursue academic careers in clinical and translational research are eligible. Trainees accepted into the program must be able to commit full-time effort to the program for the duration of the appointment (minimal duration is ten months), successfully complete all course work per the requirements of the individual courses and attend seminars.

Stipend: Students receive $1,910 per month in stipend and $1,374.50 per semester for health care costs.

Tuition: There are no tuition costs associated with required course work.

Application: Applications to the CRTC Predoctoral TL1-Intensive Program are accepted online. Applications open in late fall of each year and close in the early spring of the following year. Prospective trainees are responsible for completing all required steps of the application, admission and enrollment process.

More Information: For more information, including specific application and course work requirements, please visit the CTC website or contact:

Jay Piccirillo, MD, FACS
CRTC Predoctoral Program Director
voice: 314-362-8641
email: piccirij@wustl.edu

Clinical Research Training Center — Predoctoral Program
Washington University School of Medicine
Campus Box 8051
660 S. Euclid Ave.
St. Louis, MO 63110
email: crtcpredoc@dom.wustl.edu

Overview: The Master of Population Health Sciences (MPHS) offered by the School of Medicine is a 10-month, full-time degree program for medical students, residents, fellows and attendings seeking training in clinical research methods. The curriculum emphasizes the role of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics in approaching clinical effectiveness and outcomes research for all medical fields.

The MPHS does not require a research thesis upon completion of the program. Instead, the program uses applied course work to focus on the long-term mastery of skills. Using topics relevant to their careers and interests or research being done while in the program, MPHS students practice the art of developing research study protocols, performing systematic reviews, designing epidemiologic studies, writing grants and much more. Many students go on to produce award-winning research using their applied coursework and skills learned in the program.

MPHS students deepen their learning by choosing one of four concentrations: Clinical Epidemiology, Health Services, Quantitative Methods or Psychiatric and Behavioral Health Sciences.

Prospective Students: Applicants should be in the process of completing a degree in a clinical training program at the doctoral level or should have completed such a degree. The pace of course work assumes students have familiarity with clinical medicine.

Program Format: For medical students, the MPHS program is a full-time, 10-month format. The maximum course load is 18 credit hours per semester.

Core MPHS Courses:

• Introduction to Statistical Analysis Software
• Biostatistics 1
• Biostatistics 2
• Ethics in Population and Clinical Health Research
• Introduction to Clinical Epidemiology
• Intermediate Clinical Epidemiology
• Applied Epidemiology

Information on elective courses is available at mphs.wustl.edu.

MPHS Program: The MPHS provides medical students with an opportunity to supplement their clinical training and course work with a quantitative approach to population health research. Students develop core skills in epidemiology and biostatistics, which can be applied to research in any clinical field, from primary to specialty care. The program is intended for medical students who plan to incorporate clinical effectiveness or outcomes research into their clinical careers. The program is not restricted to Washington University medical students; students from other medical schools are encouraged to apply. Most medical students obtain their MPHS degree after the second or third year of medical school.

Application:
Deadline for the academic year: March 15

Further Information: The director of the MPHS program is Graham Colditz, MD, DrPH. Additional information can be obtained at mphs.wustl.edu or by emailing mphs@wustl.edu.

Overview: Available exclusively to current Washington University School of Medicine students pursuing their Doctor of Medicine degree, students in this program earn a Master of Public Health degree from the Brown School in one additional year of study.

Designed for medical students with an interest in population health, this program approaches improving community health from the perspective of prevention. Students gain an understanding of the social, economic, environmental and cultural determinants of health and learn to apply evidence-based approaches to community-level disease prevention, health promotion and health policy.

Application: Applications are accepted throughout the year. Please click here for more information.

Further Information: For more information regarding this program, please contact:

Brown School
Washington University
Campus Box 1196
One Brookings Drive
St. Louis, MO 63130-4899

phone: (314) 935-6676
toll free: (877) 321-2426 (Continental U.S. Only)
fax: (314) 935-4859
email: mph@wustl.edu
website: mph.wustl.edu

Number of Participants: Available to all Washington University medical students at any point in the curriculum.

Length of Program: Completed in one year; in exceptional circumstances, a second year may be permitted.

Funding: None through Washington University School of Medicine, though students may receive a stipend from the research mentor. If a stipend is available, the primary university appointment must be as a full-time student. A secondary appointment as a predoctoral fellow or trainee or as a graduate research assistant is acceptable. These appointments may imply stipend limits. Students are not eligible for employee benefits, but the department may elect to cover student health costs under separate payment. Tax liability and withholding will depend on the appointment and the individual’s circumstances.

Project Guidelines and Eligibility: Students who wish to take advantage of this program should select a research mentor and obtain permission to work with him/her for one year. The arrangement should then be approved by the mentor and by the associate dean for medical student research through the application process.

Because this is a recognized program endorsed by the school, students are registered for the year for this course of study with a Pass/Fail grade option and are considered full-time students during that time. No tuition is charged. A nominal registration fee is charged, and the student health fee is charged if the research is performed at a local institution.

Requirements:

• An independent research project must be completed.
• The application process requires a completed application form and a research proposal due one month prior to the start of the research year.
• Students and mentors are expected to meet regularly throughout the year to ensure timely progress and benefit of mentor guidance and feedback.
• No thesis is required. However, a final research report must be submitted to the mentor and the associate dean for medical student research at the completion of the research year.
• The mentor issues to the associate dean for medical student research a final grade of Pass or Fail and an evaluation of the student’s performance at the completion of the research year. This grade will be recorded on the student’s permanent academic record.

Application: Due one month prior to the start of the research year. The application and the research proposal are submitted to the associate dean for medical student research.

Further Information: Students interested in the program may obtain additional information and an application by contacting:

Koong-Nah Chung, PhD
Associate Dean for Medical Student Research
Director of the Office of Medical Student Research
Instructor of Cell Biology and Physiology
voice: (314) 362-5464
email: OMSR@wustl.edu

Roz Robinson
Project Manager/Research Administrator
voice: (314) 362-5464
email: OMSR@wustl.edu