Research Opportunities for Learners

The research division is dedicated to training medical, graduate and undergraduate students and residents in the scholarly aspects of primary care. There are experiences for students through established programs and courses and through independent study experiences. All Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM) research faculty mentor and train students at various levels, so there are a wide variety of research experiences available to students.

Undergraduate and Graduate Student Opportunities

Independent Self-Study
Faculty in the DFCM also serve as mentors to students in independent self-study or electives from their schools. If students have an interest in working with a DFCM research faculty mentor on a project for a course elective, they should contact the research director or the specific faculty member at least 4 months prior to the start of the elective or self-study period.

MedSci 4042L: Practice and Community Based Health Research
This elective for students in the Medical Sciences undergraduate Major or Minor (or other students with permission of the course director) will introduce students to practice and community based research that addresses issues related to health and the delivery of healthcare by primary care. Students will work primarily with a research mentor; the exact tasks for each student will vary. Recent research projects include the studying integrative medicine, improving chronic pain care, assessing social anxiety and alcohol use and studying outcomes of patients with diabetes. Students will also participate in weekly research meetings, 2–3 clinical shadowing sessions observing family physicians, and bi-weekly meetings with the course director.

Graduate Certificate in Community-Engaged Research for Health
This new Certificate will be geared towards graduate students, faculty members, and academic or community researchers who are interested in integrating community engagement into their research design. Graduates from the Certificate will obtain the skills and resources needed in order to conduct community-engaged research. Topics will include: an overview of community-engaged research and ethics, introductory research methods and dissemination, community psychology, and communicating and translating scientific results to public audiences. Because CEnR often occurs in under-resourced communities that include people of color, an important new course will be offered on bias in health research, particularly as it relates to racism. The Certificate has been approved by the University of Cincinnati and enrolled its first students in Fall 2022. For more information or to apply, visit the website https://www.cctst.org/community-engaged-research-for-health.

Medical Student Opportunities

Medical Student Summer Research Fellowship
Medical students between their first and second year are eligible for the program. This summer experience matches students with a DFCM research faculty member to perform clinical and practice based research. Each student also spends ½ day per week shadowing a family physician in order to see how the research and clinical experiences inform each other. An additional ½ day is spent in an intensive small group session with a DFCM faculty member learning important research skills, including reading and evaluating the medical literature, practice based research, qualitative research skills, health care policy and writing for publication. Stipends are generally available for this experience, and students frequently complete publications and abstracts for presentation. To apply, please visit Fellowship Common App.