Research Track

Introduction and Purpose:

A major goal of the UMass Chan Neurology residency program is to encourage scholarly activity and the pursuit of clinical and translational research. The goal of the “Research Track” is to provide intensive research training, enhanced mentorship, time, and resources in order to support a motivated resident(s)’ research endeavors. The resident(s) selected will be provided a continuous, protected block of time, with minimal clinical duties, in which to devote their full efforts to pursuing a mentored research project. The resident(s) applying to this track should be interested in pursuing a career as a clinician-scientist, including application to research fellowship grants and/or a career development award.

Organization:

Research time will be primarily drawn from a resident’s available elective time, and grouped into a continuous ~5-month block between the PGY-3 and PGY-4 years; as a consequence, a research track resident will be “front-loaded” during their PGY-3 year, with multiple inpatient blocks in a row and limited breaks. There are instances where a resident will choose not to group their block in this way if the study design needs more longitudinal study and this will be open for discussion when the resident applies to the track. During the research block, residents will be encouraged to advantage of the biostatistics and epidemiology “bootcamp” offered through the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (CTS605A) and/or the NIH “Introduction to the Principles and Practice of Clinical Research”, available online.  During this research block, outpatient clinic will be restructured to ½ day per week, and the resident will not be on back-up/sick call. Similar to other tracks, the resident(s) will be required to attend monthly track meetings, held during a noon conference period. These meetings will offer a combination of didactics, working groups/writing groups, and the resident will be expected to update the track leaders on progress of their project.

Timeline:

Research Block

Expectations/Outcomes:

It is expected that resident(s) will complete a peer-reviewed article, presentation at a national meeting, and/or a draft of a grant application. Residents will be expected to present their work in the Spring of the PGY4 at the annual Research Forum.

Eligibility:

• At least one spot is available each year
• You must be a Neurology resident in your PGY-2 (N1) year pursuing a basic, clinical, or translational research project. No prior or formalized research background is necessary.

You must have identified a project mentor on faculty at UMass Chan.

• You must be eligible from a clinical standpoint.

Criteria for Awards:

(1) Intellectual and Scientific Merit of proposal

(2) Potential of research to advance candidate’s knowledge/skills and transition into a career as clinician-scientist

(3) Feasibility, including letter of support from your PI. For each submitted proposal, sections 1-3 will be graded by at least 3 independent members of the Resident Research Advisory Committee, who will grade each section of the proposal between 1 and 10. The highest average score will be awarded the research track position.