Some research at OU-COM is going to the dogs literally! Audrone Biknevicius, Ph.D. (Biomedical Sciences) has been conducting a study of the effect of growth and development on locomotor biodynamics in canids (dogs). In this National Science Foundation supported study, canids ranging in age from five weeks to 11 years are borrowed from the community. They are encouraged to run down a runway into which a force platform is integrated. The platform effectively records the forces that the limbs apply to the ground. Combining these data with high-speed videography of limb posture and radiographs of hind limbs enables Dr. Biknevicius to assess normal locomotor stress levels in the tibiae of the dogs.
Preliminary results demonstrate that age does affect locomotor force application. For example, vertical force mag-nitudes increase with age in trotting canids until about 100 days then force values asymptote, although the dogs continue to grow for another year. Despite these differences in applied forces, no significant differences in bone stress levels were observed. Speed differences and slight alterations in locomotor posture likely compensate for the greater force records in older puppies and dogs. Yet to be evaluated is how bone material properties affect these results because young puppies have relatively poorly mineralized (and thus less rigid) bones than do adults. Dr. Biknevicius hopes to incorporate data from geriatric dogs in the future.
Another potential outcome of this study could be the ability to detect a dog's tendency to develop hip dysplasia. Currently it is not known if a dog will become dysplastic before the age of two. Dr. Biknevicius hopes to follow-up with "subjects" from this study who develop hip dysplasia in order to find patterns in the preliminary data that might predict this condition.
Dr. Biknevicius' findings in this research led to the concepts that will be investigated by her and Steve Reilly (Biological Sciences) in a new three-year NSF award to study the evolution of locomotor posture in tetrapods.
Many residency programs require a research project as an important piece of a resident's training. It can be difficult, however, for residents to stay on schedule, and for residency directors to monitor their progress. Sometimes residents near the end of their training suddenly realize that they do not have sufficient time to complete their required project.
To assist residents and residency directors, the CORE Research Committee has developed an In-Training Research Progress Outline. This outline lists out specific goals on a month-by-month schedule. An example of one month's activities is given below:
This outline was developed by Peter Bell, D.O., Keith Watson, D.O., and Jack Brose, D.O., and modified by the CORE Research Committee. Since some programs require a one-year project, while others require a three-year project, separate progress outlines for the two tracks are available.
The progress outlines were distributed and discussed at the August, 2000, CORE Academic Steering Committee meeting. The forms will be available on the internet to residents and residency directors in the near future. In the meantime, the files will be e-mailed to you by contacting Judi Rioch at rioch@ohiou.edu. Questions or comments regarding the In-Training Research Progress Outline can be addressed to Dr. Brose (740-593-2247), Dr. Watson (740-593-2229), or Dr. Bell (614-297-4203).
This past summer fifteen Phase II medical students participated in research projects with faculty mentors at OU-COM through the Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship program. This is a ten-week program that enhances hands-on research with weekly seminar topics related to research. The participants and their research topics included:
Poster displays of these projects are exhibited in Irvine Hall throughout the academic year. The call for faculty mentors will be circulated in January for the 2001 summer program. Descriptions of the research opportunities will be distributed to Phase I students in February and they will have until early March to apply for one of the positions available. For additional information, contact Judi Rioch, Program Director, at 740-593-2336.
At the 18th Annual Research Day of the Ohio Academy of Family Physicians, Douglas Harley, MSIII, received the Student/Resident Research Presentation Award for his presentation entitled "Location and Specialty Choice Among Osteopathic Family Practice Physicians." The study, coauthored with Chris Simpson, D.O. and Al Pheley, Ph.D., of OU-COM, surveyed osteopathic physicians who completed a family practice residency between 1992 and 1996. The survey instrument explored the factors associated with the choice of rural versus urban practice location including rural practice exposure during training, debt at graduation, and place of K-12 residence. Over 240 family physicians participated in this effort.
This is not the only research project that Harley has been involved with during his first two years at OU-COM. Student doctor Harley was instrumental in helping conduct the Southeast Ohio Health Examination during the summer of 1999 through the Research and Scholarly Advancement Fellowship program. Over 2,600 individuals in Athens and the surrounding counties were surveyed about health status, personal characteristics, access to and utilization of health care services, coexisting health conditions, and food security. A subsample of more than 800 participants also underwent a brief health screening including height, weight, blood pressure, and a finger-stick blood sample for hemoglobin, total cholesterol, glycated hemoglobin, and random glucose. Harley was involved in each component of the project and coordinated the daily project activities.
Prior to matriculating at OU-COM, he took part in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), where he was a research assistant with Audrone Biknevicius, Ph.D., and Stephen Reilly, Ph.D., on their study of developmental locomotor biodynamics. Harley, a student in the PCC, is now studying in the Southwest CORE.
PI: Gillian Harper-Ice, Ph.D.
Agency: Ohio Health Care Association
Title: Stress experienced by residents of assisted living facilities
Amount: $9,974
PI: Charlene Smith, Ph.D., and Norman Gevitz, Ph.D.
Agency: Osteopathic Heritage Foundation
Title: Differences in verbal and nonverbal communications and patient satisfaction measures
Amount: $51,240
PI: Suzanne Hatty, Ph.D.
Agency: Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine
Title: Preventing battering: Evaluating BIPšs in rural Appalachia
Amount: $1,621,109
PI: Linda Ross, Ph.D.
Agency: Deafness Research Foundation
Title: Connexins and cell death in developing auditory brainstem
Amount: $20,000
PI: Alfred Pheley, Ph.D.
Agency: Tri-County Community Action Agency
Title: Evaluation of displaced mineworker retraining
Amount: $90,446
by Al Pheley
Beginning October 1, 2000, the National Institutes of Health will require that all investigators conducting research with humans, human tissue, and/or human specimens have training in the protection of human subjects. Federal Regulation 45 CFR part 46 provides a comprehensive definition of human subjects and the types of research covered.
Rebecca Cale of the Ohio University Institutional Review Board has informed us that her office is currently developing a training program to meet this requirement. Plans are to make the training as convenient as possible through an on-line tutorial. The NIH has already implemented a web-based tutorial program which is available at http://ohsr.od.nih.gov/.
This new regulation applies to all investigators with NIH funds, whether from a new grant or one previously awarded. Compliance assurances, signed by an institutional authority, must be filed with every new application. Funding of grants and renewals will be delayed until all key personnel who have contact with human subjects, or are integral to the development of the study design and methods have provided documentation of the required training. Investigators added to a project after it has been funded must also provide documentation of training to the NIH at the time of the next progress report. A description of the training for each of the key personnel must be included as part of a cover letter at the time of grant request submission or renewal, and with any required progress reports.
As with most NIH directives related to the protection of human subjects, it is expected that this new regulation will be adopted by most institutional review boards (IRB) and applied to all human research whether funded by the NIH or other sources. If you have any questions about this new policy or other research issues, please call the Office of Research at 740-593-2336.
Contact Judi Rioch at 740-593-2336 or rioch@ohiou.edu for details
Research Project Grants (R01)
Research project grants are awarded to institutions on behalf of a principal investigator to facilitate pursuit of a scientific focus or objective in the area of the investigator's interest and competence. Institutional sponsorship assures the NIH that the institution will provide facilities necessary to accomplish the research and will be accountable for the grant funds. Applications are accepted for health-related research and development in all areas within the scope of NIH's mission.
Deadline: February 1, 2001
Award: December 1, 2001
Amount: Up to $500,000 direct costs per year for up to 5 years
AREA -- Academic Research Enhancement Award (R15)
The Academic Research Enhancement Award (AREA) is designed to enhance the research environment of educational institutions that have not been traditional recipients of NIH research funds. This award provides limited funds for faculty members of these institutions to develop new research projects or expand ongoing research activities in areas related to the health sciences and to encourage students to participate in the research activity.
Deadline: January 25, 2001
Award: December 1, 2001
Amount: Up to $100,000 total direct costs over 1 to 3 years
