Center for the Health Sciences Interprofessional Education

The year-long, renewable degree option of the TL1 Multidisciplinary Predoctoral Clinical Research Training Program is designed for students in the health professions predoctoral programs who desire more depth in research curriculum and can commit more time to develop a focused clinical or translational research project in collaboration with research mentors. The minimum time commitment is 12 months, with the option to renew the appointment for an additional 12 months.

Students in this option will earn a master's degree (MPH or MS in epidemiology) in an informal concurrent program with a professional degree (MD,DDS, DNP, DPT, or PharmD) in one or two years of full-time graduate study. Or students who are in PhD programs may choose this option for one or two years of support during the dissertation phase of their work.

Students in a professional doctoral program (MD,DDS, DNP, DPT or PharmD) must apply to both the master's degree program and the TL1 program. Since the master's degree programs have December 15, 2009 deadlines, it is advised that you speak with one of the co-directors (Dr. JoAnne Whitney or Dr. Linda LeResche) in fall 2009 to determine if this program is right for you. PhD students who are already in programs in the schools of medicine, nursing, pharmacy and social work apply only to the TL1 program. However, they should be near or at the dissertation phase.

In order to achieve the objectives of this program, participating students are expecrted to develop an individualized coursework plan with the program directors and their mentors, gain focus on particular research methods, and have sufficient time to gain intensive experience in clinical research (primary data collection and analysis or extensive manipulation of existing data in a secondary analysis, for example).

Participation in this option will require that students in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy or the DNP, DPT programs in nursing and physical therapy will extend their professional predoctoral training up to a year. However, there will be some students whose prior coursework or experience may allow them to integrate this level into their ongoing professional doctoral work. Medical, dental, pharmacy, DNP or DPT students should notify their academic advisors about acceptance into this program, so that the professional curriculum plan can be adjusted appropriately.

Coursework requirements for the year long option

ALL students in this option should register for the program directors’ seminar (UCONJ 599) EVERY quarter, and the Biomedical Research Integrity series in the Summer.

TL1 Program Required Courses
	Summer quarter: Biomedical Research Integrity Series UCONJ 517 Summer Quarter
	UCONJ 599 /Fall/Winter/Spring

Other courses to satisfy the MS or MPH requirements will be taken summer 2010, fall 2010, winter 2011 and spring 2011.

Students who are pursuing a graduate degree option will take the equivalent of the core courses epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical research design.

Students electing this option will develop a toolkit for clinical and translational research including the following:

Generate questions related to clinical practice and use clinical and translational research methods to solve them.
Critically evaluate and synthesize existing research and generate a scientific argument in the form of a small research proposal.
Collect, analyze and manage data under supervision.
Practice scientific presentation skills in the form of oral or poster presentation.
Prepare a scientific abstract or publishable paper.
Plan for protection of human subjects (including ethical principles, regulatory oversight, informed consent, risk-benefit evaluations, and equitable selection of subjects).
Evaluate ethical issues facing beginning clinical investigators around collaborative studies, authorship, data quality and integrity, protection of human subjects, conflict of interest.

Those who renew the appointment for a second year are expected to develop a proposal for independent research funding, entry into a PhD program, or postdoctoral research training.