Short-Term Training in Ophthalmology Research for Medical Students

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PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Encouraging the next generation of ophthalmology physician-scientists is a pressing need for the field. To that end, the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology proposes a T35 short-term summer research program for medical students interested in ophthalmology research. The rationale for this program is that early exposure to research is likely to engender ongoing interest in a research career, and that early exposure to concepts in ophthalmology beyond the standard medical school curriculum will attract more students to research in the specialty. Thus, the objectives of this program are to provide a research experience that (1) introduces trainees to the diversity of research in ophthalmology, including experimental design, methods, critical evaluation of the literature, and results presentation; (2) instills in trainees an interest in ophthalmology through didactic lectures, workshops, and hands-on clinical training and shadowing; and (3) offers trainees training in responsible conduct of research. To meet these objectives, the program will offer a 12-week research experience for medical students after completion of their first year. Students interested in ophthalmology will be actively recruited from the school, as will students from underrepresented populations, especially those entering the Indiana University School of Medicine from one of Indiana University’s multiple pipeline programs. Program slots are requested for 6 students, who will be paired with mentors selected from a pool of 17 participating faculty. Faculty research interests span basic, translational, and clinical research in major areas of ophthalmology, with particular strengths in retina, glaucoma, and pediatric ophthalmology. Trainees will spend the majority of their time working on mentored research projects with their mentors, but will also engage in other enrichment activities, including responsible conduct of research lectures and workshops. Innovative aspects of the enrichment activities include (1) integration with the Indiana University Medical Student Program for Research and Scholarship (IMPRS), a School-wide summer research program, exposing trainees to scientific and research career-oriented seminars from diverse faculty; (2) a one-day “boot camp” teaching trainees key basic concepts in vision science and clinical ophthalmology; and (3) interprofessional education opportunities provided by videoconference participation in a class on “Critical Evaluation of Vision Science Literature” offered by the Indiana University School of Optometry to their summer OD student researchers. The Department and School have a deep commitment to this new T35 program, which will leverage the highly successful infrastructure of IMPRS while providing unique, and currently lacking, ophthalmology-specific content and trainee slots. The long-term goal of the program is to increase the pool of ophthalmology physician-scientists in Indiana and nationally by generating excitement about vision science research through an integrated, dynamic summer research opportunity in the field.