Research

Our research rotation trains you to critically evaluate medical literature and research findings; provides you with in-depth exposure to basic, clinical or translational research; and prepares you to apply new research to clinical practice.

In our fellowship, you’ll spend at least six months conducting original laboratory, clinical or library-based gastroenterology research and scholarship.

With the guidance of your research mentor, you will comprehensively review medical and scientific literature, develop your project, design experiments and analyze results. 

We’ll help you master key research principles and concepts, including:

  • requirements for communication with the institutional review boards, animal research committees, regulatory agencies and study sponsors
  • procedures for obtaining informed consent
  • privacy procedures for clinical research data
  • record keeping that preserves the integrity of research data
  • fundamentals of authorship

We encourage you to publish your work in peer-reviewed journals and present your findings at conferences. Your research mentor will guide you as you embark on the process of writing an abstract and preparing for publication.

Ample Time for Research

Our serious commitment to research means we know how important it is for you to fully dedicate yourself to your investigations. Therefore, expect to abstain from clinical activities during our required research rotation. While embarking on research, your only clinical undertakings will be:

  • activities related to your clinical research project
  • continuity clinic
  • night and weekend call
  • teaching conferences

Interdisciplinary Collaborations

We recognize the value of conducting research with colleagues from other divisions and departments of the medical school. We encourage interdisciplinary collaborations; if you engage in research with investigators outside of our division, one of our faculty members will provide additional support as your co-research mentor.

Extra Months of Research

If you select the research track of our program, you'll participate in extra months of research training and will have opportunities to take coursework in areas including:

  • biostatistics
  • the basic sciences
  • clinical epidemiology