New UF College of Medicine program offers medical students chance to become researchers

University of Florida medical students who believe their career path may lead to a research laboratory in addition to an examination room now can explore both options and still earn their M.D. in four years, thanks to a new track within the medical curriculum.

The College of Medicine Research Track will enable students to complete a minimum of 28 weeks of clinical or basic science research during medical school with the help of a faculty mentor, said Colin Sumners, Ph.D., a UF professor of physiology and functional genomics who helped organize and will direct the program. Graduates will receive an M.D. with honors in research and a “certificate,” a notation in their record indicating they successfully completed the program.

Most importantly, he said, students will gain a broader perspective on medical science.

“Many things that medical doctors do depend on discoveries made in research,” said Sumners, also a member of UF’s McKnight Brain Institute. “This program makes medical students more aware of research and where these discoveries are coming from and gives us an opportunity to begin the process of training the clinician-scientist.”

Sumners and other members of the college’s curriculum committee developed the program at the request of Dean Craig Tisher, M.D., who wanted to establish a way for medical students to perform extended research and still graduate with their class.

Approved in March, the program now is accepting applications from first-year students. Sumners also is a member of the medical selection committee and discusses the research track option with candidates who hope to join the college’s class of 2009.

“I give a presentation each week to the candidates who are interviewing,” he said. “We’ve had a fair number who are really interested in this option.”

To apply, students fill out a form that is reviewed by an oversight committee. Most applicants will be accepted, and many will be eligible for funding for their first 10-week period of research, Sumners said.

After selecting mentors and project ideas, students will perform at least 10 weeks of research in the summer after their first year of medical school, another 10 weeks at the start of the third year and eight weeks during their fourth year. They will complete the project by writing a manuscript suitable for submission to a respected scientific journal, which will be reviewed by the oversight committee. The research track also includes classes on ethics, statistics and research methods.

The program also gives students the flexibility to continue into more intensive research activities, earning a master’s degree or Ph.D. prior to completing the final two years of medical school.

The research track option is another example of UF’s commitment to serving the learning needs of all its medical students, said Robert Watson, M.D., the college’s senior associate dean for educational affairs.

“Dr. Tisher’s concept of a research track is innovative and exciting,” Watson said. “The college and our students are very fortunate to have Dr. Sumners leading this program. He has done a masterful job overseeing our current medical student research activities, and the research track is a logical extension and expansion of research opportunities for our students.”