by Jared Rutecki

OU-COM has in place a strong research program for medical students to experience between their first and second year. That program, the Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship (RSAF), prepares students aiming at a future in research, as well as those aiming at clinical practice. Sixteen students participated in the program, which ran from June 12 through Aug. 18.

“Long term, whether somebody decides to go into research or not, the experience that they gain is extremely beneficial,” says Rengarajan Balaji, M.B.A., RSAF program director and research grant development coordinator for the Office of Research and Grants. “It definitely will help them long term in their careers.”

“Invariably, research is tied in with the field of medicine,” says Balaji.

“What this program does is to walk students through a research project from beginning to end,” says Jessica Wingett, accounting associate in the Office of Research and Grants. The program introduces students to important areas such as Institutional Review Board regulations and procedures and how to put together an effective poster.

“They learn the full scope of a research project,” Wingett says.

Students attended a series of seminars that introduced them to basic research techniques. These seminars covered various topics, such as medical literature searches and statistical analysis.

Students enrolled in the program this past summer were Utkarsh Acharya, Jason Allen, Kristen Conrad, Gary Fennig Jr., Leonardo Herrera, Rachel Holt, Daniel Hartman, Westin Horne, Rob Huff, Kimberly Jackson, M. Salman Khan, Ryan Mills, Tim Neely, Ndidi Obichere, Michael Sawvel and Maria Streng.

Their faculty mentors were Mark Berryman, Ph.D.; Janet Burns, D.O.; Richard Klabunde, Ph.D.; John Kopchick, Ph.D.; Frank Schwartz, M.D.; Karen Coschigano, Ph.D.; Jen-Tzer Gau, M.D., Ph.D.; Gillian Ice, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Yang Li, Ph.D.; Jay Shubrook, D.O. (’94); and Steve Clay, D.O.

They oversaw the research and guided the students through a variety of the clinical, biomedical and social research projects, which are aimed to be presented at prominent national conferences and in peer-reviewed journals such as Diabetes Care, published by the American Diabetes Association, and the Journal of the American Osteopathic Association.

Below is a list of the projects.

Neely; Horwitz, S.L.; Ice; Burns. “The Relationship between Somatic Dysfunction and Chronic Pain in Luo Elders.”

Acharya; Khan; Gau. “Does Gastric Acid-Suppressive Therapy (GAST) Increase the Risk of Pneumonia in Older Adults?”

Holt; Shubrook. “Diabetes Care in Extended Care Facilities: Appropriate Intensity of Care?”

Mills; Shubrook. “Effectiveness of Insulin Treatments in a Community Hospital.”

Streng; Rockey, B.; Conatser; Howell. “The Effect of Respiration on Paraspinal Muscle Compliance at T3, T7, and L4.”

Obichere; Coschigano. “Characterization of Macrophage Markers in bGH Mice with Kidney Damage.”

Huff; Tanda, S.; Miller, I.; Berryman. “A Study of the Role of Drosophila CLIC in Programmed Cell Death.”

Jackson; Horwitz; Yogo, J.; Ice. “Nutrition Transition and Health Consequences Among Kenyan Elders.”

Herrera; Conrad; Bender, S.B.; Klabunde. “BQ-123 and BQ-788 Effects of ET-1 Induced Vasoconstriction in C57BL/6J Mice.”

Fennig; Shubrook. “There is a disconnect between the performance of an osteopathic exam in the acute care hospital setting and the AOA documentation requirements.”

Clay; Allen. “The description and pathophysiological explanation of a case study in opiate addiction.”

Hartman; Li. “The Role of Zinc in Hemostasis: A Review of the Literature.”

Okada, S.; Sankaran, S.; Horne; Freda, P.U.; Jørgensen, J.OL.; Trainer, P.; Kopchick. “Identification of growth hormone specific serum protein markers: A proteomic analysis of serum from patients with acromegaly.”

Sawvel; Holder, A.; McCall, K.; Schwartz; Kohn, L. “C10, Diabetes, Insulin Resistance, and Leptin: Is It All Connected?”