University of Miami kidney Innovative & Interdisciplinary Medical Education in Research Activities (UM-KIIMERA)

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PROJECT SUMMARY There are major challenges facing the nephrology community in the United States. One is the overall decrease in interest in nephrology as a specialty; the second one is the overall decreased interest in a career as physician scientist. Therefore, implementation of programs at earlier stages of training in areas where the interest in academic medicine is diminishing is a priority. The long-term goal of this proposal is to increase the interest in nephrology among medical school trainees in Florida. In order to achieve this goal, we propose to engage ten first year medical students in a summer program designed to foster interest in nephrology by exposing students to basic, clinical, and translational science research opportunities. This state-wide summer school of nephrology will be named UM- KIIMERA: University of Miami Kidney Innovative & Interdisciplinary Medical Education in Research Activities. In order the achieve the proposed goal, the specific aims of this program are: a) Engage ten first year medical students (five from UM, and 5 from other Florida Institutions) in a eight-week summer research program (b) Retain the engaged students by promoting their participation in Nephrology scholarly activities, attending local and national nephrology meeting, and become active members of the local APSA chapter. UM-KIIMERA curriculum will include lectures on clinical, translational and experimental research, a mentor-mentee breakfast, a welcome symposium, a eight- week immersive experience in a specific research project, a dedicated journal club, a closing Saturday morning with brief presentations and an introduction to members of the University of Miami American Physician Scientist Association (APSA) chapter. Several post course scholarly activities and research opportunities are provided to maintain the students engaged in the program throughout medical school. The program is designed to empower and be empowered by existing training grants and Institutional research opportunities and events. An organizing program committee will operate under the supervision of an External Advisory Committee (EAB). A selected group of CTSI certified mentors will be available to the students. Outcome metrics such as U-KIIMERA students career choice will be collected yearly and utilized to guide the program towards its goals.