51ÉçÇø

Medical students must understand that they have a very important role as a research or scholarly activity trainee. Responsibilities associated with that role include: 

• Identifying and clearly defining research or scholarly activity interests and goals 
• Actively participating in the process of identifying a mentor 
• Being an active research or scholarly activity trainee/mentee and contributing to the team as a whole 

It is also important for medical students to seek meaningful research and scholarly activity experiences. Such experiences often result in some sort of publication, abstract, or poster presentation. Tips for finding research and scholarly activity opportunities include: 

• Prepare your CV. Your CV should outline your education; honors/awards; work experience; prior research experience (including institution, department, PI, project title, description of your specific role, research skills, presentations, publications, etc.); leadership (e.g., student government); community service; and memberships. 

  Preparing Your CV, Cover Letter, and Personal Statement

• Invest time in determining what interests you. Are you interested in biomedical (bench) research? Human-based clinical research? Medical education research? Community-based investigation? Commercial clinical trials? What research topic interests you? 
• Determine how much time you have available to commit to a project. Are you interested in a summer research project? Will this be a scheduled research rotation? How many weeks do you have to commit to the project? How many hours per week can you commit to the project? 
• Determine if you can pursue a research project or scholarly activity if funding is not available. 
• Determine your desired outcome of the project. Publication? Poster presentation? 

After asking yourself these fundamental questions, steps you can take to identify research and scholarly activity opportunities include: 

• Review the literature to determine who is conducting research in your geographic region that may be of interest to you. 
• Talk to your classmates and residents about your interests and see if they can provide any recommendations of individuals who they know are conducting this type of research or scholarly activity. 
• Review Heritage College or 51ÉçÇø faculty research and scholarly activity interests to determine if anyone within our school is conducting research or scholarly activity that matches your interests and reach out to them. 
  • Information regarding Heritage College faculty interests can be found in the Staff and Faculty Directory or by exploring Heritage College institutes and other health-related institutes within OHIO including:
    • Diabetes Institute (DI): Research foci includes disease mechanisms (inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in obesity and diabetes), interprofessional healthcare teams (education, technology, and healthcare delivery systems to train and support the healthcare team), and Patient and Population Health (clinical and behavioral outcomes for the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes in underserved populations).  
    • Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute (ITDI): Research foci includes Tropical Disease Initiative (biology of Chagas disease; malaria research; medical entomology of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes), Healthy Living Initiative (social and economic development for long-term Chagas disease control in Ecuador), Reproductive/Sexual Health Initiative (public health and research in sexually transmitted diseases​, and bacterial pathogenesis (molecular mechanisms underlying virulence gene expression, virulence-associated bacterial processes, host-pathogen interactions)
    • Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI): Research foci includes the Pain Disorders Research Division (musculoskeletal rehabilitation research program​) and the Healthy Aging Research Division (frailty and fractures research program)
    • Appalachian Institute to Advance Health Equity Science (ADVANCE): Promotes research that contributes to the developing science of health equity and population health improvement through the study of health outcomes and services, as well as social factors that impact health. ADVANCE fosters social science and health services research to reduce health disparities based on a wide range of social factors, and it supports research collaboration across 51ÉçÇø and with community-based research partners.
    • Edison Biotechnology Institute (EBI): Research foci includes growth disorders, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, aging, infectious diseases, and cancer.  EBI fosters basic discovery research, the development of new technology, and the transfer of that technology to the private sector to create companies, jobs, and investments in Ohio.
  • You can also search Heritage College and 51ÉçÇø faculty in the OHIO Experts Directory and the Research and Scholarly Opportunities with OHIO Faculty webpage. 
• Review clinical site research information pages (if available) for information on individuals who may be conducting research of interest to you. Examples include the , , and the .
• Visit the . 
• Schedule a meeting with the Office of Research and Grants. Our staff is happy to meet with students to discuss their research and scholarly activity interests and provide resources that may help students find research opportunities. We hold weekly office hours via Microsoft Teams. or contact traineeresearch@ohio.edu. If requesting a meeting outside of office hours, please include a meeting topic and a few dates and times that you may be available, and a staff member will be in touch as soon as possible.

It is imperative that students are proactive and reach out directly to potential mentors who are conducting research or scholarly activity of interest to them to inquire about the possibility of joining their team.  Students can adapt the email below to assist them in reaching out to potential mentors.

• Provide your CV (if the mentor does not already have a copy), and discuss your research or scholarly activity goals and prior experience, if any. 
• Discuss your mentor’s goals for your involvement in the project. Moreover, determine your specific role in the project, what skills you will be expected to learn over the course of the project, etc. 
• Convey your available time to the project. 
• Convey whether your participation in the project is contingent upon availability of funding. 
• Determine if the project on which you would be working already has IRB/IACUC approval, if necessary. If not, find out when IRB/IACUC approval will be received.  Projects must have applicable approval prior to work beginning on the project. 
  • Please note that if the project is already IRB/IACUC approved, students must be added to the protocol in order to participate in the project. 
  • If you are working on a project outside of 51ÉçÇø, you are required to obtain approval/deferral from 51ÉçÇø Research Compliance. 
  • Training Requirements, Research Compliance, and ORCID ID information or contact compliance@ohio.edu. &²Ô²ú²õ±è;
• Finally, clearly define expectations for both yourself and your mentor as you enter into a project. 

Academic Requirement 

All Heritage College students are required to complete a case-based paper due by Dec. 15 of the fourth year of medical school training. Students must work with the academic program administrators to schedule OCOM 8941 for this requirement. 

Elective Research and Scholarly Activity Rotations 

Heritage College students can complete research and scholarly activity electives during their medical school training. Typically, students may register for research and scholarly activity rotation electives during their fourth year, but students who have an existing project and a commitment from their mentor may be granted permission to participate in research and scholarly activity electives during spring semester of their third year. Research and scholarly activity electives include a Critical Literature Review (OCOM 8942); Case-Based Study (OCOM 8943); or Original Research (OCOM 8944). Third-year (OMS III) rotations are restricted to OCOM 8944. 

Elective Research Rotations

Yes. Students who wish to pursue research or scholarly activities but who do not seek dedicated time or academic credit are required to follow all requirements for participation in research and scholarly activity.

Our staff is happy to meet with students to discuss their research and scholarly activity interests and provide resources that may help students find opportunities. We hold weekly office hours via Microsoft Teams. or contact traineeresearch@ohio.edu to schedule outside of office hours. If requesting a meeting outside of office hours, please include a meeting topic and a few dates and times that you may be available, and a staff member will be in touch as soon as possible. 

In addition to the foundational D.O. medical degree, students pursuing medical education at the 51ÉçÇø Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine have several additional educational opportunities. The Heritage College offers programs for students with interests in combining their medical education with a degree in research, business, biomedical engineering, or social/behavioral health. 

Learn More

Medical students may engage in research and scholarly activities at any time during their medical school career.  During the summer between OMS I and OMS II years, medical students are encouraged to participate in mentored summer research or scholarly activity. Many research and scholarly activity opportunities exist for medical students through organized programs; however, students may also find opportunities by conducting their own search. 

Internal Opportunities

Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship Program 

RSAF is a summer fellowship program that introduces scholarly work for osteopathic medical students working under the guidance of Heritage College faculty or affiliated faculty. This program is open to medical students during the summer between years one and two of their medical education. 

Learn More

Research and Scholarly Activity Opportunities with OHIO Faculty

Faculty from several OHIO colleges have research and scholarly activity opportunities for medical students. Reach out directly to the faculty member for details.  

Learn More

Heritage College and OHIO Institutes

The Heritage College has three institutes in which research and scholarly activity is occurring.  Additionally, research and scholarly activity opportunities may be available through other OHIO health-related institutes.  

• Diabetes Institute (DI): Research foci includes disease mechanisms (inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in obesity and diabetes), interprofessional healthcare teams (education, technology, and healthcare delivery systems to train and support the healthcare team), and Patient and Population Health (clinical and behavioral outcomes for the prevention and treatment of obesity and diabetes in underserved populations).  
• Infectious and Tropical Disease Institute (ITDI): Research foci includes Tropical Disease Initiative (biology of Chagas disease; malaria research; medical entomology of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes), Healthy Living Initiative (social and economic development for long-term Chagas disease control in Ecuador), Reproductive/Sexual Health Initiative (public health and research in sexually transmitted diseases​, and bacterial pathogenesis (molecular mechanisms underlying virulence gene expression, virulence-associated bacterial processes, host-pathogen interactions)
• Ohio Musculoskeletal and Neurological Institute (OMNI): Research foci includes the Pain Disorders Research Division (musculoskeletal rehabilitation research program​) and the Healthy Aging Research Division (frailty and fractures research program)
• Appalachian Institute to Advance Health Equity Science (ADVANCE): Promotes research that contributes to the developing science of health equity and population health improvement through the study of health outcomes and services, as well as social factors that impact health. ADVANCE fosters social science and health services research to reduce health disparities based on a wide range of social factors, and it supports research collaboration across 51ÉçÇø and with community-based research partners.
• Edison Biotechnology Institute (EBI): Research foci includes growth disorders, diabetes, obesity, autoimmune diseases, inflammation, aging, infectious diseases, and cancer. EBI fosters basic discovery research, the development of new technology, and the transfer of that technology to the private sector to create companies, jobs, and investments in Ohio.

Global Health Initiative 

The Global Health Initiative offers several global health programs that promote an understanding of global health issues; increase multicultural awareness; and involve students, faculty and staff in research, education and outreach activities abroad and in immigrant communities in the U.S. 

Learn More

External Research Programs and Opportunities 

Many of the external programs listed in the link below are available only to medical students during the summer between their first and second years of medical education. Please review the program information carefully to determine eligibility.

External Programs and Opportunities