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?”
- 30 -
News for
the week of
Sept 11 – Sept 16
