Master of Science in Clinical Investigation
Please be advised. CCTS Scholarships are not going to be available for newly matriculated students January 2025-2026.
The Master of Science Degree in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) Program emphasizes the development of strong clinical investigation skills based on a solid foundation in study design, conduct of observational studies and randomized trials, clinical epidemiology, and biostatistics. Students acquire excellent writing and oral presentation skills through formal classroom work as well as by participating in several oral presentations.
Trainees completing the MSCI Program acquire the necessary skills to successfully
- Design, conduct, and analyze the results of clinical investigations at the individual and population-wide level.
- Design and analyze the results of studies that provide insights into the molecular pathophysiology of disease.
Trainees are grounded in the principles of clinical investigation with a flexible multidisciplinary focus providing curriculum tailored to their needs and interests as researchers aspiring to become successful independent clinical investigators.
Our clinical investigation research program is primarily intended for individuals already trained in the medical sciences as well as others with relevant scientific backgrounds and experiences who desire further training in research design and methodology. This includes physicians, nurses, dentists, medical students, other health care professionals, and PhD level scientists desiring to pivot to clinical investigations.
The MSCI program works with Fellowship Directors, Residency Directors, K-award mentees, and Director Supervisors to integrate the MSCI educational requirements with clinical or other responsibilities. To facilitate the integration of MSCI requirements with clinical responsibilities, the MSCI program has no educational formal course requirements held on Mondays and Fridays and core required courses are held on Tuesday and Thursdays between 8am and noon and Wednesdays 3:30-5pm.
Concentrations
The MSCI Program offers two concentration tracks:
- Population based clinical research
- Bench-to -bedside translational research
These concentrations allow students to enhance their knowledge based on their current interests and career objectives. The participating faculty, representing the interdisciplinary nature of our MSCI Program, come from the disciplines of epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical research, biomedical informatics, molecular medicine, genomics, advanced therapeutics technologies, and drug development.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Students in the MS in Clinical Investigation Program complete a structured series of courses, seminars, and workshops related to the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical research. The core curriculum is enhanced with presentations by invited speakers, participation in journal clubs and research in progress seminars, research conferences, and extensive contact with their mentoring teams.
Students must satisfactorily complete a total of 36 credits to obtain the Master’s Degree. This includes a core curriculum, elective courses, and the satisfactory completion of their thesis research. Each student develops an individualized curriculum based on research goals, clinical responsibilities, and other factors. Students typically complete this degree over the course of 18 months to 2 years. Medical students take a year leave of absence from medical school to complete the MSCI via an intense 1-year curriculum.
For the satisfactory completion of a thesis, students must design a research project, defend a formal proposal, perform the described study, and prepare a scholarly scientific paper on the principal study findings. The thesis must be relevant to the student’s concentration track and written in the format of an article suitable for submission to a scientific journal. The initial thesis project, and final write-up of the research project must be approved by the student’s Thesis Committee which is comprised of three faculty members from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. An oral presentation of the findings is required.
LEADERSHIP AND FACULTY
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Robert Goldberg, PhD
MS in Clinical Investigation Program Director
email Dr. Goldberg
FACULTY
Our faculty and students conduct science that makes a difference in several areas of excellence, including:
- Aging
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Health Disparities
- Health Informatics and Implementation Science
- Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
- Health Services Research
- Pharmacoepidemiology
OUR STUDENTS
Courtney Birchall, MD
Courtney Birchall is a Maternal-Fetal Medicine Fellow in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at UMass Memorial Medical Center. She received a Bachelors in Neuroscience from Stonehill College and a Doctor of Medicine from UMass Chan Medical School. She then completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Penn State Medical Center. Her research interests include improving surgical outcomes following cesarean delivery, as well as maternal substance use and exposure in pregnancy.
Zachary Ballinger, MD
Zachary Ballinger is a general surgery resident in the Department of Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Virginia, then received obtained a Doctor of Medicine at New York Medical College. He is currently on two academic development years, where he will be working closely with the Department of Pediatric Surgery on a variety of clinical outcomes, injury prevention, and quality improvement projects.
Harris Feldman, MD
Harris grew up in Maryland and obtained his B.S. at Towson University and M.D. at University of Maryland School of Medicine prior to coming to Worcester in 2020 for his Internal Medicine-Pediatrics residency at UMass Chan Medical School. During his 4th year of residency, he enrolled in the Master's of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) with anticipated graduation spring 2025. In addition, he is completing a TL1-funded research fellowship during the 2024-2025 academic year for his grant proposal submitted through the Program in Digital Medicine (PDM) focused on digital health monitoring for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). He is applying for an adult gastroenterology fellowship during the summer 2024 application cycle.
Benjamin Gallant, MD
Benjamin Gallant is a general surgery resident in the Department of Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a focus in the Neuroscience Certificate Program from Providence College, then obtained a Doctor of Medicine at Albany Medical College. He is currently on two academic development years, where he will be working as the Mark Justin Kusek Colorectal Surgery Research Fellow with the Dept of Colorectal Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center focusing on a variety of clinical outcomes, risk prediction models for diverticulitis patients, and quality improvement projects.
Carolyn Garcia, MD
Dr. Carolyn Garcia is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at Baystate Health and an Assistant Professor of Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate. She received her Doctor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, completed an Internal Medicine residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, and was a clinical and research fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Garcia is the recipient of a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Diversity Research Supplement grant which will support her research interest in improving patient-centered outcomes for individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Inbar Plaut, MD
Inbar Plaut is a fellow in Pediatric Emergency Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics. She received a Bachelor's degree in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT and a Doctor of Medicine degree from UMASS Chan Medical school. She completed her residency in Pediatrics at Children's National Hospital in Washington, D.C. Her research interests include using machine learning to develop algorithms that standardize and improve care in the Pediatric Emergency department.
Joseph Tejan, MD
Joseph Tejan is a T32 Research fellow in Cardiovascular Medicine. A native of Dallas Texas, he completed his undergraduate degree at Washington University in Saint Louis, then his medical degree at UT Southwestern medical center and completing his residency at Johns Hopkins Bayview. Dr. Tejan's research interests include biomedical devices and the integration of devices into patient's lives. He is working under the mentorship of Dr. McManus on digital health and device implementation for patients with cardiovascular disease.
Kayla Widdowson, MD
Kayla Widdowson is a general surgery resident in the Department of Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received both her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology and her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Miami in Miami, FL. She is currently on two academic development years, where she will be working closely with the Department of Surgical Oncology on a variety of clinical outcomes, translational, and quality improvement projects.
Alexander Wilkins, PhD
Alexander Wilkins, Ph.D., is a Deaf Assistant Professor in the UMass Chan Medical School Department of Psychiatry and Co-Director of the DeafYes Center for Empowerment and Recovery. He has a degree in clinical psychology from Gallaudet University. He was a recipient of a Diversity Supplement Grant and is currently funded by a K23 Early Career Investigator Grant, both awarded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). His K23 research focuses on adapting motivational enhancement therapy for use with the deaf and hard of hearing community. His general research interests include improving access to mental and behavioral health services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals.