Study Programs

This multi-departmental program provides opportunities including clinical research in anesthesiology, surgery and critical care, epidemiology, human physiology, and cell biology. Students have opportunities for research in cardiovascular and respiratory physiology, molecular pharmacology, neurobiology, and environmental science. Regardless of ultimate career choice, investigations in anesthesiology, surgery, critical care, medicine and environmental physiology provide strong basic science grounding and application of research principles. Students meet with the Study Program Director to monitor progress in the laboratory. At the end of the year, each student is expected to present his or her work at a meeting. Publication of an article by each student in a peer-reviewed journal is expected. 

This program excludes Orthopedic Surgery which is covered under the Biomedical Engineering and Surgery program.

A unique opportunity for the students to present their projects in a formal setting moderated by an external reviewer of national stature is provided annually by the Department of Anesthesiology. A course in Physiology and Medicine of Extreme Environments is available in the spring of each year.

ASEP Faculty Mentors       Director: Richard Moon, MD

This study program is designed to help third year medical students obtain an integrative understanding of the basic processes underlying normal and pathological human and laboratory animal behavior. The course and preceptorship offerings familiarize students with significant developments in the behavioral neurosciences, investigative methodology used to examine human behavior and its neurobiological underpinnings, and the application of these findings to medicine. As an example, they are provided with the neuroanatomical, histochemical, neuroimmunological, neuropharmacological, and neurobehavioral basis of prescribing anxiolytics, antidepressants, and other neurotropic drugs.
 
Students select an area of research concentration that matches their interests. They will be supervised by a faculty member research preceptor. Projects focus on some determinant of human behavior which may include neurobiological, developmental, or psychosocial factors. Students spend a significant portion of their time in a closely supervised in the laboratory and in associated library research in their area of interest resulting with the intent producing a published report of the work. Specific science interests can be augmented through seminars, guided readings, and appropriate courses providing a greater familiarity with current issues in the biobehavioral sciences.

BSP Faculty Mentors      Director: Christine Marx, MD

This interdepartmental study program is designed to provide third year students with an opportunity to perform laboratory-based research in the broad areas of surgery, engineering, regenerative medicine, and orthopaedics. Students interested in orthopedic surgery must also contact Dr. Neill Li to express interest.

Research in this study program can be either basic science or clinically focused. The program is designed to provide research opportunities to students interested in the quantitative understanding and innovations in the fields of surgery, engineering, and orthopaedics. It can also encompass research into the physiology of cells, tissues, organs, organ systems, and whole animals or people, populations, as well as the efficacy of various therapies. Program mentors have laboratories that investigate these areas at the molecular, microscopic, and macroscopic levels as well as clinical research. They utilize whole animal, organ, cellular, and molecular models or in vitro simulation of disease states. The development and employment of new instrumentation may be a component of the research effort, as well as the use of versatile cell-based therapies such as adult stem cells. Emphasis in the student experience is placed upon the teaching of the quantitative method of understanding biological systems. The student is expected to learn to formulate hypotheses, to develop appropriate methods to test such hypotheses and to use statistical methods to draw conclusions form their data. Each student selects a faculty mento in consultation with the study program director and an individual research plan is developed. Students who wish to enter this program are not required or expected to have any engineering background.

Students interested in Orthopaedics should contact Neill Li, MD

BES Faculty Mentors        Director: Bruce Klitzman, PhD

This interdepartmental study program is designed to provide third year medical students with an in-depth basic science research experience in one area of the broad discipline of cardiovascular science. The program is directed at those students potentially interested in a career in cardiovascular research. Faculty members in this study track come from numerous departments, including Medicine, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Immunology, Pathology, and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology. Students who elect this study program undertake a research project in a laboratory under the guidance of a faculty preceptor studying human, animal and cell physiology and/or genetics as they apply to diseases of the cardiovascular system. In addition, with the permission of their mentor and study program director, students may take course work each term to complement their research interests. Because a wide range of research opportunities is available, course work is individually tailored by the faculty preceptor to the interests of the student.

CVS Faculty Mentors      Director: Neil Freedman, MD

This study program offers students the opportunity to explore the quantitative and methodological principles of clinical research. Under the direction of a clinical investigator and a statistician, students use the methods and techniques of biostatistics and related disciplines to address a clinical research question. Designated courses may be taken with the approval of the student's preceptors.

CRSP Faculty Mentors        Director: Vivian Chu, MD, MHS

The Global Health Study Program (GHSP) was approved in February 2008 to meet the growing demand from Duke medical students for a centralized resource for information, mentors, funding, and research opportunities related to Global Health (GH). In collaboration with the Duke Global Health Institute (DGHI), the GHSP facilitates connections for students with research opportunities at Duke’s GH field sites, including international partners and locations offering appropriate opportunities. The Institute focuses on seven signature research initiatives with global reach. The program also connects students to Duke faculty with GH expertise, such as those whose research focuses on infectious diseases, epidemiology, clinical microbiology, translational medicine and social science.  The GH Study Program, as with all Third Year Study Programs, requires a thesis that demonstrates quantitative expertise, regardless of the discipline chosen.  Students will work with a project mentor, usually a Duke Faculty member, to develop and conduct research that is of benefit both to the community collaborator and to the educational goals of the student. DGHI and SOM collaborate to provide pre-departure orientation and academic support while students are engaged in their work.  For more information, please contact the GH Third Year Study Program Coordinator.

NOTE: Students wishing to conduct research at an international site that is not related to global health and/or health disparities, or who would be best mentored under another study program, may find more appropriate mentorship through another Third Year Study Program.

Students may also choose to pursue the Duke Master of Science in Global Health

Limited funding will be available for Third Year students undertaking research projects related to global health. While preference will be given to students participating in the GH Study Program and working at DGHI field sites, all relevant proposals will be considered.

GHSP Faculty Mentors      Director: Megan Huchko, MD, MPH

Our genetic makeup plays a large role in dictating our health. With our improved knowledge of human genetics and genomic variation, we have tremendous opportunity to dissect the genetic determinants of human diseases such as heart disease, psychiatric conditions, cancer, and osteoarthritis to name a few. Once these genetic contributions are understood, the physician will have a powerful means at his or her disposal for realizing personalized medicine by identifying individual risk factors and offering lifestyle modifications. The study program in human genetics offers third year medical students an integrated program for understanding research in human genetics, its application to human genetic disease for risk assessment, genetic counseling, potential therapeutics, and ethical and legal implications for this research on the patient, the family, and society. We anticipate that students in this program will follow one of several broad paths, utilizing either a molecular approach or a statistical approach to understanding and treating human genetic disease.

Research opportunities are available in laboratories studying such diverse topics as positional cloning of human disease genes, gene therapy, biochemical genetics, animal models of genetic diseases, development and developmental defects, epigenetics, and genetic epidemiology. At the end of the year, students are expected to produce a thesis summarizing their work.

In addition to the research project and thesis, the program requirements include a year-long seminar series held weekly targeting current topics in human genetic research. Other elective courses may be taken with the permission of the program director and the student's preceptor.

HGP Faculty Mentors       Director: Andrew Landstrom, MD, PhD

Overview

The development of the next generation of medical education scholars is key to the future delivery of quality medical education, which ultimately leads to improved patient care. Toward this goal, we offer students a range of education research opportunities, with opportunity to design original research projects under the guidance of education research mentors.  This program also provides students with didactic training and practical experience in educational theory and research skills.  Along with completion of the third-year requirements, students will obtain the foundational training to become future leaders in medical education research.

Curriculum

In this study program, students will be expected to perform a research project under the guidance of an approved mentor and will be expected to fully meet the requirements of the 3rd Year program, including statistics training, presentation of research, and successful completion of thesis or thesis equivalent. Research projects will be rigorous, hypothesis-driven studies that utilize quantitative methodology.  Considerations for mixed-methods projects will need to be reviewed on an individual basis.
This research experience will be complemented by formal didactic training to ensure that students understand the foundational framework and principles behind health professions education, including curriculum development and evaluation, learner assessment strategies, instructional methodology, etc.  This formal training will be offered by the Duke AHEAD Certificate program, and students will be expected to complete this program*. 

Another component of the study program is that all students would participate in some form of teaching experience during medical school. This experience will include, but are not limited to, Small Group Leader opportunities in courses such as CSC, CSF, CDHD, LIC, and others. 

*Notation of certificate attainment will not appear on student transcripts.  Duke AHEAD will not provide funding for research projects.

MERP Faculty Mentors   Director: Mitchell T. Heflin, MD

Overview

The Medical Humanities Study Program offers a multidisciplinary opportunity for students to explore topics in medical history, ethics, theology, and other fields within the medical humanities. Students design their own research projects under the guidance of medical humanities mentors, and tailor their third-year experience around the completion of this project. While some students may participate in their mentor’s ongoing research, others can pursue projects independent of (but related to) their mentor’s primary areas of interest. See below for dual degree options.

Curriculum

Research:  The principal component of the Medical Humanities Study Program is an in-depth research experience within the medical humanities. The location of this research will vary with the mentor and project chosen. Some projects may be appropriately pursued in libraries and archives. Others may include interviews with or experimentation upon human subjects in the clinical or other academic setting. Like their peers in the more traditional science track, medical humanities students will explore a research question, find data to support or refute it, and write a thesis that communicates their results.

Proposal:  All students are expected to prepare a 1-2-page proposal by the end of spring of the second year outlining the aims of the proposed research in consultation with their chosen mentor. This proposal will state the problem to be studied, the rationale and relevance of the problem, and include a bibliography of relevant literature and sources.

Courses:  Students are expected to take two courses in the medical humanities during their third year. Working with their mentor, students will identify courses within the university relevant to their research question. Courses may be chosen from the Medical School, Divinity School, or Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Individual readings courses with the mentor or other faculty may be included in the courses chosen. The student must complete two semesters devoted fully to the medical humanities field of study. The student may include relevant courses from prior study to reduce the course expectation at the discretion of the study program director, but this does not minimize the two-semester requirement of dedicated humanities study.

Lecture series:  Students will attend the regular humanities lecture series offered through the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities and History of Medicine.

Posters:  Students are expected to submit abstracts to present results in poster or oral format at the annual student medical research day.

Final Thesis:  Students will prepare a thesis that fulfills the usual thesis requirements (traditional, manuscript submission or grant submission format) and that represents the product of their research. This is due on the thesis deadline date set by the Registrar’s Office.

Publication:  Students are encouraged to produce work that is of sufficient originality, importance, and quality that it will be accepted for publication by a relevant medical humanities journal. Authors of historical theses will be encouraged to submit their work for the William Osler Prize awarded by the American Association of the History of Medicine for the best essay by a medical student. The winning essay of this prize contest is traditionally published in the Bulletin of the History of Medicine.

Dual Degree Options: 

• Master of Arts in Bioethics and Science Policy (MD/MA)
• Master of Theological Studies (MD/MTS)
• Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MD/MALS)

MedHum Faculty Mentors    Director: Gopal Sreenivasan, PhD

The Microbiology, Infectious Diseases, and Immunology Program (MIDIP) Study Program provides students with the opportunity to explore laboratory-based and clinical research in infectious diseases and immunology. For example, MIDIP will appeal to students interested in the public health initiatives of vaccine design, mechanisms of autoimmunity, or the management of infectious diseases. Knowledge of infectious diseases and immunology is central to the effective management of disease in a vast array of public health and clinical settings.

Duke University faculty members include world leaders in the study of microbiology and immunology, many with a strong tradition of outstanding mentorship for third year medical students. The MIDIP research experience can be focused on one of a wide variety of important clinical problems. Aberrations of immune system development can be studied using animal models of primary or acquired immunodeficiency syndromes. Diseases of chronic inflammation and autoimmunity highlight the damaging effects of exaggerated or inappropriate immune responses and can be examined through research focused on the pathogenesis of diseases such as asthma and rheumatoid arthritis. Modulation of normal immune responses is also critical to the management of solid organ and bone marrow transplantation and is becoming increasingly important in the treatment of cancer.

Faculty mentors at Duke also have outstanding research programs studying the molecular mechanisms of microbial pathogenesis in bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitological systems. Microbial genetics can be exploited to investigate fundamental processes in genetics and molecular biology. The development of novel chemotherapies for microbial infections, particularly of prevalent or emerging infections, remains a high priority for public health. The student may also choose to pursue research pertinent to the many molecular processes that underlie normal lymphocyte development and function and use this opportunity to master some of the new technologies available to biomedical research. Additionally, these molecular genetic tools can be used to explore the molecular epidemiology of microbes in humans, non-human hosts, and environmental samples.

The MIDIP track emphasizes original research. This program offers third year medical students an opportunity to undertake basic research and to integrate with graduate students, fellows, and faculty of the Medical Center departments contributing to this Program. Each student will select a faculty mentor, and together they will develop an original proposal within the context of the mentor's ongoing research program. The student will be expected to design experiments, critically assess the relevant literature, evaluate data, apply appropriate statistical tests, solve problems associated with the project, and communicate the research results in written and oral presentations. The faculty and staff will provide appropriate guidance and assistance within the laboratory or clinical setting.

MIDIP Faculty Mentors     Director: Steve Taylor, MD 

This interdepartmental study program is designed to provide third year medical students with an in-depth basic science or translational research experience in oncological sciences, regenerative medicine, the nutritional and metabolic mechanisms of chronic disease or the molecular basis of disease. Faculty members in this study track come from numerous departments, including Medicine, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Immunology, Pathology, and Pharmacology and Cancer Biology.

Students who elect this study program undertake a research project in a laboratory under the guidance of a faculty preceptor and participate in appropriate seminar series. In addition, with the permission of their mentor and study program director, students may take course work each term to complement their research interests. Due to the wide range of research opportunities available, course work is individually tailored to the interests of the student by the faculty preceptor. There are five (5) discreet sub tracks to accommodate the diversity of interest in Molecular Medicine.

MolMed Faculty Mentors        Director: David Hsu, MD, PhD

The Neurosciences Study Program is designed to provide a multidisciplinary opportunity for third year medical students over the broad range of basic and clinical neurosciences. Many of the most intractable and prevalent diseases of our time afflict the nervous system, and in many ways research in the neurosciences represents one of the final frontiers of medicine and biomedical science. Areas of study range from molecular and cellular neuroscience, neuroimaging, developmental neurobiology, systems and cognitive neuroscience to translational neuroscience such as animal modeling of neurological disease and development of potential therapeutics. Faculty in the program are drawn from many departments including Neurobiology, Radiology, Pharmacology, Cell Biology, Psychology, Neurosurgery, Neurology, Pediatrics, Medicine, Psychiatry, and Ophthalmology, and are engaged in research that ranges from fundamental properties of ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors to cognition and perception. The program emphasizes a basic research experience under the guidance of a mentor along with opportunities to attend seminars and present results in written, oral, and poster presentations. 

Research:  The basic component of the Neurosciences Study Program is an in-depth research experience in a research laboratory under the supervision of one of the participating faculty. Students will work full-time in a laboratory pursuing an independent research project including conducting experiments, analyzing results, and communicating findings.
 
Proposal:  All students are expected to prepare a 2–3-page proposal by the beginning of the third year, outlining the aims of the proposed research in consultation with their chosen mentor. This proposal is the foundation of the end of research scholarly work product (SWP) and should state the problem to be studied, the rationale and relevance of the problem, the specific hypotheses to be tested, a brief description of the experiments to be performed, and references.
 
Meetings:  Students will attend quarterly informal meetings with Dr. Goodwin to discuss proposed research plans, ongoing projects and career development issues, and will be encouraged to present and discuss data. Outside speakers may also be invited to discuss particular topics of interest. Please contact Mattie Stevenson, MBA to schedule a meeting.
 
Posters:  Students are expected to submit abstracts to present results in poster or oral format at the annual medical student research day (MedSym) in August.
 
Final Thesis:  At the end of the research year, students are required to write a description of their hypotheses, the outcome of their experiments, and conclusions of their work (15-25 pages).

Neurosciences Faculty Mentors        Director: C. Rory Goodwin, MD, PhD

The development of the next generation of clinician-scientists is a high priority of the educational mission of the Department of Ophthalmology. To achieve this goal, the faculty offer a wide scope of research opportunities to third year students. These range from intense, hands-on experience in molecular and cell biology, to animal surgery, to clinical prospective and retrospective studies. The student, in addition to being closely mentored by an individual faculty member, is encouraged to participate in the vast array of departmental research and clinical seminars and lectures. These activities offer an intensive learning environment and provide a solid foundation from which to launch a successful career bridging basic and clinical sciences with the practice of medicine.

OVS Faculty Mentors     Director: Catherine Bowes Rickman, PhD

Pathology is the study of disease. Physician pathologists diagnose and prognose diseases by examination of tissues and cells (anatomic pathology) and biochemical and molecular changes (clinical and molecular pathology). These laboratory/ pathology data make up a critical portion of every patient’s Electronic Medical Record.

The goal of the Pathology Study Program is to provide third year medical students with the opportunity to learn about Pathology and Laboratory Medicine while undertaking a research experience (wet or dry) under the guidance of a faculty mentor. Example opportunities include but are not limited to artificial intelligence/machine learning of Pathology Images and clinical datasets, biomarker development and patient outcomes research in anatomic pathology, molecular pathology including genomic profiling, clinical pathology, transfusion medicine, immunology, microbiology and cardiovascular pathology (for which there is a unique scholarship opportunity).

PSP Faculty Mentors      Director: Shannon McCall, MD

*PLEASE NOTE: THIS TRACK IS AVAILABLE ONLY TO PCLT STUDENTS

Overview

The Primary Care Leadership Track (PCLT) offers students committed to primary care an opportunity to develop skills needed for delivering equitable patient centered care in a community-engaged manner that improves, population health. Students explore the social drivers of and root causes of health disparities, develop a meaningful population health improvement research focus that incorporates community engagement and learn leadership skills useful in redesigning clinical programs to better serve patient needs at the individual and population levels.

Curriculum: Research. The principal scholarly component of the PCLT is conducting translational research that has potential for population health improvement and incorporates community engagement in one or more phases of the research process (development, implementation, evaluation, and/or dissemination). Like their peers in other study program tracks, primary care leadership program students will explore a primary research question, find data to support or refute it, and write a thesis (or a grant or manuscript alternative) that communicates their results. The third year will have a 10-, 11- and 12-month option. Throughout the year, students will participate in a series of video-conference meetings, facilitated by the study program director, with other students in the PCLT study program to have an opportunity to engage in peer coaching and reflect on Third Year experiences, challenges and lessons learned. Other elective courses may be taken with the permission of the program director and the student's preceptor.

Proposal: All students are expected to prepare a 1–2-page proposal by the end of spring of the second year outlining the aims of the proposed research in consultation with their mentor.  The proposed research is to benefit both the existing research/project team with which the student is collaborating and the educational goals of the student.  This proposal will state the problem to be studied, the rationale and relevance of the problem, and include a bibliography of relevant literature and sources.

Posters: Students are expected to submit abstracts to present their project results in poster or oral format at a scholarly and/or community event.

Final Thesis: Students will prepare a thesis that represents the product of their research, no more than 25 pages in length. This is due on the thesis deadline date set by the Registrar’s Office. Students are also allowed to produce, instead, a manuscript or grant alternative, as outlined by the School of Medicine.

Dual Degree Option:  Yes, as long as it is population health improvement oriented.

PLCT 3rd Year Research Projects

PCLT Faculty Mentors    Director: Anh N. Tran, PhD, MPH  

The research in this program focuses primarily on radiology and radiation oncology, including all types of research:

Clinical trials/evaluation: interventional radiology procedures; adaptive radiotherapy; stereotactic radiosurgery; multi-parametric MRI; hyperpolarized gas MRI for lung function
Translational science: machine learning and radiogenomics; Alzheimer’s imaging markers; optical imaging and 3D dosimetry; intra-operative imaging

Basic laboratory science: epigenetics of radiotherapy; lung cancer proteomics; mechanisms of radiation injury
Students have the opportunity to work with a diverse group of research and clinical faculty from radiology, radiation oncology, biomedical engineering, and physics. The program emphasizes the use of quantitative methods to solve clinically significant problems. Prior experience in sciences (e.g., physics, engineering) are helpful, but the program also welcomes students of all backgrounds. Program students have published approximately 70 papers over the past 5 years in many of the field’s top journals, including: Radiology; AJR American Journal of Roentgenology; and Int J Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics.

RROMP Faculty Mentors    Director: Joseph Lo, PhD