Short-Term Research Training for AuD Students

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The objective of the Short-Term Research Training Program for AuD Students at Boys Town National Research Hospital (BTNRH) is to provide a 3-month, full-time, hands-on translational research experience to five predoctoral AuD students per year. This program is motivated by a shortage of audiologists who engage in research careers. By exposing AuD students to an intensive research experience, we have a unique opportunity to encourage AuD students to consider a PhD or otherwise pursue clinical/translational research careers. Each trainee will be involved in all aspects of a research project, working in one of 22 BTNRH laboratories currently conducting translational research related to audiology as it pertains to hearing, vestibular, cognition, and/or speech/language sciences. Most of the 22 laboratory directors have extramural support in the form of R01 and R21 grants. Trainees will work with BTNRH faculty mentors who have extensive experience working in a clinically oriented, multidisciplinary research environment. The primary research experience will include (1) completion of a research project that includes the design, implementation, data collection, and analyses for the study; (2) reporting results of the research project at the American Auditory Society meeting the following spring; (3) mandatory participation in a course in responsible conduct in research; (4) mandatory participation in a course on the research process, in tandem with the other T35 programs, (5) participation in journal groups; (6) attendance at seminars and colloquia; and (7) frequent interactions with each trainee’s mentor, informal discussions with members of the research faculty and participation in community engagement events. Prior to research participation, trainees will complete the CITI training course related to research involving human subjects. Trainees will benefit from the experience of BTNRH faculty who have mentored postdoctoral fellows (as part of our T32 training program), provided research training to AuD and PhD students from various universities, and mentored AuD trainees who participated in the past 15 years of the T35 program. Trainees will have access to centralized human subjects recruitment, clinical measurement and technology resources and personnel for assistance with subject recruitment, data collection/training, computer software/hardware support, and statistical analyses. Trainees will be recruited from AuD programs nationally, with special efforts to identify and recruit trainees from under-represented populations. Several measures will be used to assess the program’s success including (1) the number and quality of applications received, (2) exit questionnaires completed by each trainee, (3) questionnaires sent to AuD program directors regarding the impact of the T35 traineeship on their students, (4) the number of publications resulting from each traineeship, (5) the number of trainees who pursue a PhD in preparation for a career in research, and (6) the number of trainees who obtain positions where research is emphasized.