Cincinnati Children's Summer Medical Student Respiratory Research Fellowship

PROJECT SUMMARY There is a shortage of well-trained research-oriented physicians who are prepared to develop new approaches to prevent, diagnose and treat childhood respiratory diseases. This limited pool of well- established investigators is further threatened by a decreasing number of young physician scientists who choose to specialize in pediatric respiratory disciplines. Training at all levels is an important priority at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital which has established extensive programs for developing MD, PHD and MD/PhD fellows and faculty into independent clinical and basic science investigators. The Pediatric Pulmonary Division at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) is uniquely positioned to interest students in careers focused on pediatric respiratory disorders. Pulmonary research at CCHMC has very strong and diverse clinical and basic science research programs and the Sleep Disorder Center is one of the few pediatric programs in the United States that has a certified pediatric sleep fellowship program with an extensive research focus. This proposal will provide a 10 week summer research fellowship for 12 medical students following their first year of medical school. The program has a well-organized method of selection of trainees from a competitive pool of medical students with outstanding academic qualifications. A faculty of over 35 MDs, PhDs and MD/PhDs from multiple departments with a proven record of success in research and mentoring are available to the trainees. All investigators are well-funded in NHLBI-focused research areas focused on pediatric respiratory disorders. Included within the program are opportunities to pursue basic and clinical research projects with weekly meetings at which instruction in responsible conduct of research and specific clinical and research topics in pulmonary and sleep medicine are provided. Students present their projects to peers and mentors at the end of summer symposium. Past trainees rate the program highly on research education received and report a very high interest in pursuing careers in research at the end of the summer. Past trainees have been consistently successful in publishing manuscripts and winning awards for their research at national meetings. The strengths of our research programs in the areas of pediatric pulmonary and sleep medicine combined with an enthusiastic faculty and a well-organized summer program provides an excellent opportunity to attract physician trainees at early and critical stages in their careers and increase the likelihood they will want to further pursue research as physician- scientists.