CLINICAL RESEARCH CURRICULUM

Ohio State University, Columbus OH

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

This proposal represents an application for a Clinical Research Curriculum Award. We propose to design and implement a two-year curriculum to teach 20 clinicians (per every two years) from a wide variety of health science disciplines how to conduct clinical research and how to become clinical researchers. The curriculum will revolve around five existing courses from the School of Public Health in the College of Medicine and Public Health in biostatistics and epidemiology, and will be supplemented by six specialty seminars and two intensive summer workshops. The seminars will cover the topic areas of research ethics, clinical trial design, health psychology, complex data management, regulatory issues, and outcomes research. The two summer workshops will bring relevancy to the curriculum for the participants in that they will be asked to use their own ideas and clinical experience to participate in two highly interactive workshops designed to help them frame their own research question and to develop their skills in the area of grantsmanship. The curriculum will be developed and the program led by a two-member team from the OSU health sciences: Karla Zadnik, OD PhD, Associate Professor, The Ohio State University College of Optometry (with a joint appointment in the School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Public Health) and Melvin L. Moeschberger, PhD, Professor and Chair, Division of Biometrics and Epidemiology, The Ohio State University School of Public Health, College of Medicine and Public Health. These two faculty members, who already collaborate on their own NIH-funded clinical research in the area of myopia development in children, work well together and have assembled a group of clinical researchers across the health sciences to participate as an Advisory Committee to the curriculum and as faculty responsible for course work and identifying suitable candidates for the program. The specific aims of the project are: (1) To train 20 individuals every two years from a large variety of the health sciences (medicine, optometry, nursing, dentistry, and pharmacy) in the conduct of clinical research; (2) To develop a cadre of trained clinical investigators for future research efforts at The Ohio State University and elsewhere throughout Ohio; and (3) To assist participants in designing patient-based research projects and in competing successfully for funding of that research.