Research

The goal of the fellowship program’s research training is to provide a foundation for successful independent inquiry by developing research interests and skills in a supportive and collegial environment. All PEM fellows complete an individual research project and associated scholarly product.  Fellows in the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine can engage in a broad variety of research opportunities depending on their unique area of interest, working closely with mentors from the Division of Pediatric Emergency Medicine, the Departments of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine, and the broader UMass community. 

First Year

The goal of the first-year fellow’s research experience is to introduce the core concepts of research and to expose them to a broad range of research opportunities.  Fellows will begin to explore their own research interests and will conceptualize and design a scholarly project with the help of their Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC) research mentors identified from throughout the UMass community.  Structured didactic sessions will introduce fellows to the core research topics including biostatistics, research methodology, study design, research ethics, the IRB process, and evidence-based medicine and critical literature review.  First year fellows will have the opportunity to assist faculty with ongoing research and quality improvement projects.  By the end of the first year, fellows will have developed a research question and designed a project, with the goal of initiating data collection at the start of the second year of fellowship.

Second and Third Year

Clinical responsibilities are decreased during the second and third years to allow fellows to focus on their research training and area of academic focus. In the summer of the second year, fellows can participate in coursework through the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to continue to develop their skills in clinical biostatistics and epidemiology.  Fellows also have the opportunity to obtain a sponsored master’s in clinical investigation (MsCI) during fellowship.  With ongoing assistance and oversight by the SOC, fellows will continue to make progress on their project, completing data collection and analysis, and will develop a written body of work. Fellows will have the opportunity to present their results in a variety of forums and are encouraged to present their work at both regional and national academic meetings.