Overview
Goals of the Training Program
The Primary Care Research Fellowship is a three-year program offered by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Department of Pediatrics of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The goal of our program is to prepare independent researchers with an emphasis on primary care topics, especially those focusing on prevalent health problems affecting underserved children and adolescents. The fellowship is jointly run by the Division of General and Community Pediatrics, the Division of Adolescent Medicine and the Center for Health Care Quality.
The program emphasizes skills relevant to clinical research, preparation of grant proposals and publications, and presentation of scientific data. Fellows will devote eighty percent of their time to research activities. Non-clinicians will devote one-hundred percent of their time to research activities.
Research Training and Education
Fellows will learn basic research methods necessary to develop an independent research career in a health care setting. The program includes coursework, seminars, and a closely mentored research experience. Trainees will complete the requirements for a Master of Science in Epidemiology or a Master of Clinical and Translational Research, unless they enter the program with a related degree. Those with a focus on quality improvement research will participate in training related to improvement science.
Each fellow will complete two research projects during the program. Typically, these projects include an original research project and a secondary analysis of existing data. In addition, fellows will be required to complete two manuscripts, publishable in a peer review journal and present at a national research conference. Each trainee will receive training in cultural and linguistic competency and the ethical conduct of research. At the close of the training period, fellows will be competitively positioned to obtain grant funding.
Master of Science in Epidemiology or a Master of Clinical and Translational Research
All courses in the Master of Science Degree in Epidemiology or Clinical and Translational Research are taught in the School of Medicine at the University of Cincinnati.
Examples of courses include:
- Introduction to Epidemiology and Biostatistics
- Study Design and Analysis
- Experimental Design
- Regression Analysis
- Design of Epidemiologic Studies
- Introduction to SAS Programming
A Masters in Medical Education is also available but, for those pursuing this degree, the primary interest must be in rigorous education-related research rather than in clinical education. A Masters in Public Health degree program has recently been established and may become an additional option.
Clinical Care
Our program’s clinical experience provides opportunities for clinician-fellows to learn more about outpatient pediatrics, adolescent medicine, chronic illness, behavioral problems, as well as other subspecialties and conditions. Clinician-fellows will teach medical students and residents in the primary care clinic and hospital setting. Clinician-fellows will spend one-half day each week evaluating pediatric or adolescent patients in a clinic during each year of the fellowship. Clinician-fellows will spend five weeks per year attending inpatients in the Generalist Inpatient Services (GIS),a hospitalist-based program, or in another relevant inpatient service at Cincinnati Children’s.
Setting
The Primary Care Research Fellowship Program is based at Cincinnati Children’s, a 475-bed facility. Cincinnati Children’s was recently ranked as one of the three leading children’s hospitals in the U.S. for research and patient care. Cincinnati Children’s is the major medical center for children in the Greater Cincinnati metropolitan area and a principal pediatric referral center.
Research foci of faculty involved in the fellowship include:
- ADHD
- Adolescent development:
- Puberty
- Biobehavioral health
- Asthma
- Bone health
- Child health policy
- Early child development
- Environmental health
- Gene-environment interaction
- Health disparities
- Immunizations
- Injury
- Lactation
- Obesity, diet and physical activity
- Pediatric screening and preventive services
- Qualitative research
- Quality improvement and health services research
- Sexually transmitted infections
In addition, fellows will benefit from close proximity to other research centers, including those focused on epidemiology and biostatistics, clinical trials, adherence, and clinical effectiveness.
Eligibility
The fellowship is open to U.S. citizens who have completed either three years of pediatric residency training or scientists who have completed a PhD in a field related to child or adolescent health. Minorities and women are encouraged to apply.
Selection
Fellows will be selected on the basis of their interest in pursuing a research career in child and/or adolescent health, academic and clinical performance during residency training or graduate school, and perceived potential for leadership in medicine, public health or a related field.
Application
To apply to the program, please submit the following information: a two page letter describing your career interests, a curriculum vitae and 3 letters of reference from senior faculty.
Please note, we will not be actively recruiting for fellowship positions to begin July 2010. Pending funding, we will be accepting applications and inquiries in September 2010 for training positions to begin July 2011.
Material should be sent to:
Kristen A. Copeland, MD
Fellowship Director
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Mail Location 7035, Room S9.357
3333 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039
Tel: (513) 636-1687
Fax: (513) 636-4402
Email: kristen.copeland@cchmc.org
- or -
Marlene Brock
Fellowship Coordinator
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Mail Location 7035
3333 Burnet Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45229-3039
Tel: (513) 636-7028
Fax: (513) 636-4402
Email: marlene.brock@cchmc.org
Funding
The Primary Care Research Fellowship in Child and Adolescent Health is funded by a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, National Research Service Award (NRSA).
