Medical Student Research

You have a number of options for structuring your research experience during your time at Keck. While all students will participate in the longitudinal core research curriculum and complete a scholarly project, you can also participate in the KSOM Summer Research Fellowship, research electives, the Dean’s Research Scholar Program, and the Keck travel fellowship.

We recognize that navigating the medical school research environment can be intimidating. As such, we’ve answered the questions below that most students have when starting research at Keck. If you have any other questions, please reach out to Dr. Riddell (jriddell@usc.edu) or Fiaba (Fiaba.Zakarian@med.usc.edu) at any time. 

When should I start research?
There are several factors to consider:
If you’re likely planning to pursue a competitive specialty, then you probably want to start research early in your first year, as soon as you’re comfortable.

For most students, it is wise to wait until you are settled into medical school and are comfortable with the schedule and exams. Many students jump in after they return in January from winter break of their first year.

If you don’t know what specialty you plan on pursuing, don’t stress too much about it right now. For you, the summer might be a good time to start. If you plan to do research over the summer, start reaching out to potential mentors in the early Spring – the process of finding a mentor and getting started on a project can take several months! Keep in mind that the applications for summer research fellowships, which provide funding for summer research, are due in April.

If you have no desire to do research in your preclinical years, that is ok too. You will have to do a scholarly project and present at the Medical Student Research Forum as part of your graduation requirements, but you can begin your scholarly work after you complete your core clerkships.

What if I don’t know what I want to do?

Most students don’t know what kind of research they want to do right away. The Office of Student Affairs has resources to help students with career decisions, so you may want to reach out to them. 

Even if you don’t have a specific specialty in mind, you can seek out research experiences based on the type of experience you want. If you did basic science research in undergrad, you may consider taking on a clinical research project to expand your skills and gain exposure to a specialty or clinical area of interest. 

You might also choose a research project based on a mentor that inspires you, looks like you, or piques your curiosity in a topic. If you hear a great lecture from one of our faculty, feel free to reach out to them and ask about their research.

As always, feel free to reach out to Dr. Riddell or Fiaba to set up a meeting to discuss your research interests. 

All students are required to do a scholarly project and present it at the Medical Student Research Forum as part of their graduation requirements. Students can engage in numerous forms of scholarship. Here are some of the most common:  

• Survey studies
• Case report, case series (do not count toward SP and not accepted for MSRF)
• Chart review
• Review Articles
  • Systematic vs. other 
• Experimental research
  • Basic science
  • Translational
  • Clinical

I wish we could hand-pick mentors for every student, but it is very hard to keep up with so many ongoing projects across campus. Research is a dynamic process and students, residents, and fellows come and go at various times. So available research positions change weekly, if not daily. As such, the work and time that it takes students to find a research mentor and project vary widely.  

The process generally involves students searching for potential mentors (see below) then reaching out to them via email to connect about research. 

A sample email might look something like this:

“Dear Dr. Riddell, 

I am a first year medical student interested in medical education research and technology. I came across your recent work about the role of podcasts in medical education. I am fascinated by your findings that residents can learn as much from podcasts that they listen to while driving or exercising as they can listening in an undistracted setting. I would love to meet with you to chat about your research, and see if there are any projects that you’re working on that could use the help.” 

• Research Opportunities Database (Log in with your usc.edu account):
  • List of faculty that are or were actively recruiting for projects. Even if the projects look old, it is a high yield list because it is faculty who have recruited students in the past and are highly likely to take students again.
• CTSI Profiles:
  • Search for faculty by specialty area of interest or or key words.
• 2020 Abstract Book
• 2022 Abstract Book

The Dean’s Research Scholars (DRS) program offers medical students the opportunity to conduct research with either a Keck School of Medicine faculty mentor, USC faculty mentor, or an approved mentor at another institution.  Research can be in any field (basic science, clinical or translational research).

The ten-month program is taken after the third year of the MD curriculum, beginning July-April of the following year.

Application Deadline
April 1, and decisions are expected no later than May 1.

Information Session
A DRS information session is held in the second half of the clerkship phase.

Student Eligibility
This program is open to students in good standing who have completed their third year of medical school. The research year will be completed between years three and four of the doctor of medicine program.

Application Process
DRS applications are expected to represent a project that will require a 10-month time commitment by the student.  Students should develop a project with a faculty mentor and obtain departmental approval prior to submission.

Funding – Scholarship & Conference Travel
Students working with USC faculty mentors are eligible for the Dean’s Research Scholarship, which provides a $25,000 stipend paid in monthly installments. The scholarship recipients are selected through a competitive process that includes review of the application by a committee of faculty with final allocation of resources by the dean.

DRS students are also eligible for up to $1,000 for conference travel to present work directly related to their DRS project.

Medical Student Research Forum & Poster Day
Dean’s Research Scholars are required to participate in the annual Medical Student Research Forum & Poster Day.

PSSF Medical Scholars Research Fellowship
Students who aspire to become physician-scientists and are dedicated to making fundamental discoveries that improve health and plan to do basic, translational, or applied biomedical research (not clinical) during their DRS may consider applying for the PSSF Medical Scholars Research Fellowship. Please reach out to Dr. Riddell for more information, and visit their website at https://www.thepssf.org/msrf.

Contact Us
Jeffrey Riddell, MD, Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research, jeffrey.riddell@med.usc.edu

Fiaba Zakarian, Medical Student Research Advisor, fiaba.zakarian@med.usc.edu

Presentations at conferences and symposia are critical for the professional development of medical students engaged in research. Students are encouraged to seek funding for presentations from their research mentors.

We have established a program to supplement student travel when other funding sources are insufficient.

Qualifications

• Applicant must be invited to a conference as a presenter.
• Applicant must not be a Dean’s Research Scholar (other funding available).
• MD-PhD students should first contact the MD/PhD Program Advisor at mdphdpgm@med.usc.edu for funding.
• Applicant must be in good standing.

Travel Fellowship Applications will be reviewed on a monthly basis. All applications submitted by the 15th of each month will be reviewed at the end of the month.

Submission Process

Research Travel Fellowship Online Application

Students must submit the application in advance of their conference for approval. The exact amount of funds awarded will depend on expenses recorded on your original receipts and will be disbursed as a reimbursement once you return from your conference.

Applicants must submit original receipts within two weeks of returning from the conference. Receipts not submitted within this time frame may lead to forfeiture of funding.

Receipts must clearly show:

• Your Name
• Vendor Name
• Method of Payment
• Amount Paid (or zero balance due)

Travel expenses can only be reimbursed to the student whose name is on the receipt.

For additional information, please contact the Medical Student Research Advisor, Fiaba Zakarian, at fiaba.zakarian@med.usc.edu.

Research Opportunities

• Research Opportunities Database (log in with @usc.edu account)

List of current available research activities updated regularly as we hear back from faculty

• USC Principal Investigator Profiles

You can search for mentors based on research interest (i.e. type “liver transplant” on the search bar and it will give you a list of researchers working on liver transplant and their research profiles)

• Institutes and Centers

The Keck School of Medicine’s centers and institutes represent ambitious hubs of research and innovation, driving forward the boundaries of medical knowledge and practice. These facilities serve as centers for interdisciplinary collaboration, fostering transformative studies that span from fundamental scientific discoveries to pioneering clinical interventions, ultimately working to improve health and health care for people from all backgrounds. To view a comprehensive list of all USC research centers and facilities, visit the University Research website.

Resources

• SAGE Research Methods
  • A comprehensive platform providing access to an extensive collection of research materials, tools, and content spanning various disciplines.
  • It provides valuable guidance in identifying the most appropriate statistical methods for your studies.
• Statistical Support for Medical Students
  • There is 1 hour of free support in general for CTSI Biostatistics requests. After that the charge is $125/hour.
  • For students, we have a BERD Office hour that is offered the first Friday of each month.
  • In addition, a student can make a general request for statistical services. The link for that request is here. Students should be clear in making that request that they only want the 1 free hour.

• Keck School of Medicine Research Resources
  • Grant & Contract Proposal Preparation Toolbox
  • How and Why to Promote Your Research
  • Find Core Resources
• Bioinformatics Research Guides
  • Bioinformatics team is available to answer any questions or offer a consultation.  They can be reached at nmlbio@usc.edu
• Use of R for Bioinformatics
• Biostatistics Office Hours
• Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI) Resources
• Communicating with Research Mentors
• Essentials of Clinical Research

Questions?
Please contact Dr. Jeffrey Riddell, Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research at jriddell@usc.edu or Fiaba Zakarian, Medical Student Research Advisor at fiaba.zakarian@med.usc.edu.

The Scholarly Project (SP) gives medical students the foundations they need to conduct hypothesis-driven research. Participants conduct a research project with a faculty mentor and share the results of their work at the Medical Student Research Forum and Poster Day. All medical students are required to develop a scholarly project. The SP curriculum is delivered in required sessions during the phases of the doctor of medicine curriculum. Please consult the learning management system for additional information and resources.

Scholarly Project Objectives

Comprehension
At the end of the Scholarly Project curriculum, students will be able to:

1. Identify a gap in knowledge by assessing available, sufficient, and credible information around an area of interest.
2. Formulate a research question and develop a testable hypothesis.
3. Select an appropriate research design to address a hypothesis.
4. Describe appropriate statistical analyses to measure outcomes.
5. Develop a study protocol using a standard template.

Application
At the end of this curriculum, students will be able to:

6. Collect and/or analyze data in collaboration with a mentor and/or research team.
7. Interpret study findings and assess whether the data tests the hypothesis.

Ethical Conduct
At the end of this curriculum, students will be able to:

8. Demonstrate competency in the knowledge of research ethics and the protection of human subjects or animal subjects where applicable.
9. Conduct research and report research findings with honesty and integrity.
10. Interpret accepted guidelines for authorship of scientific manuscripts.

Communication
At the end of this curriculum, students will be able to:

11. Communicate study findings clearly and accurately in writing.
12. Communicate study findings clearly and concisely via oral presentation

If you have any questions about the Scholarly Project requirements, please contact:

Jeffrey Riddell, MD, Assistant Dean for Medical Student Research, jeffrey.riddell@med.usc.edu.

Fiaba Zakarian, Medical Student Research Advisor, fiaba.zakarian@med.usc.edu.

323.442.1751

Scholarly Project Graduation Requirements

The following criteria must be met for student work to satisfy the Scholarly Project requirement:

1. Students must document adequate work effort and sufficient contribution to any scholarly product to receive credit, even when working in groups.
2. Scholarly projects must reflect adequate disciplinary rigor, i.e., there must be clear goals, adequate preparation, and evidence of the application of appropriate methods to ensure significant results.
3. Results must be communicated effectively to the intended audiences in the broader community, particularly by presenting at the KSOM Medical Student Research Forum (each student must present their own poster).

We encourage students performing biomedical research to participate in rigorous hypothesis-driven research where possible. Most literature reviews and all case reports are not acceptable formats for the Scholarly Project. A rigorously performed systematic review that adheres to guidelines and is done with an experienced team preferably including a research librarian may be considered on a case-by-case basis. Scholarly Projects performed in the context of the Senior Seminars need to adhere to the domain-specific guidelines approved by the Medical Student Research Committee.