Selecting/(searching for) a (feasible)research project and (appropriate)mentor

Pathways to Careers in Clinical and Translational Research (PACCTR)

Curriculum Core

Plan

• What is clinical and translational research

• Defining your expectations

• What is feasible?

• Where to look for mentors/projects

• Contacting potential mentors

• Is the mentor a good fit for you?

What is clinical research anyway?

• Research on a drug, biologic or device in human subjects with the intent to discover potential beneficial effects and/or determine its safety and efficacy (FDA definition)

• May also refer to research that is carried out in the clinical setting focused on patients (eg, health services research, registry studies, observational studies focused on a patient population, investigations using historic medical records…)

• Examples:– Randomized clinical trial of vit E or selenium vs. placebo to prevent

prostate cancer– Studies on the effects of screening patterns and subsequent incidence

rates of disease.

What is translational research?

• 2 general types: T1 and T2

• T1=bench to bedside, laboratory to human

• Examples:– Novel inhibitor for cancer promoter gene X is discovered in cell or

animal model and taken into patients through small pilot trials– Identify markers of disease presence (biomarkers)– Drug and device development

• T2: bedside to community (health services or policy research)

• Examples:– Identify barriers to using a new drug or practice in the community– Quality improvement programs– Evaluate the impact on population health of an intervention

What is Epidemiology?

• Studies of the distribution and determinants of disease frequency and occurrence

• Encompasses clinical research

• Observational: Cross-sectional, case-control, cohort

• Experimental: randomized trials

Summer Research Deadline

• SOM Dean’s Summer Research Fellowship: Early April– SOM student research site:

http://www.medschool.ucsf.edu/studentresearch/

• PACCTR Summer Research Fellowship: April 16, 2007 (open to students from all schools)http://pacctr.ucsf.edu/PACCTR%20brochure%2007-08.pdf

Projects for students…Your goals drive your choices

Do you want….

• Clinical experience (ie direct patient contact?)

• A publication or simply to try out clinical research

• To work in a specific specialty/area

• To work with a specific person (regardless of the project)

• Financial compensation?

Your goals drive your choices

Do you want….

• To do a specific type of research: meta-analysis, policy work, case-control study

• To create your own project or join an existing project

• To work with a team vs work alone

• How much time do you have?

• Are you willing/able to extend that time?

What can you do in 2 months?

• Review article, maybe meta-analysis

• Secondary data analysis (analyze existing data and write paper—need data analysis experience)

• A case report (this is typically more appropriate for students during

clinical years)

• Part of an ongoing project

What can you do in 2 months?

Part of an ongoing project: – Interview or recruit subjects – collect data– create survey or data collection instrument– do literature review for a grant application– data analysis – write part of a manuscript in progress

What can’t you do in 2 months?

A self-designed project using new data

What does it take to do your “own” project?

• CHR approval (takes minimum 2 months)

• Recruitment (always takes longer than you think)

• Data collection and input

• Data analysis (good to know statistical programs or work with biostatistician and programmer)

• Write and submit paper or abstract/poster

Extending your time

• Most time intensive and inflexible are: recruitment and data collection

• Can enter and analyze data and write paper in “free” time

So….

• If motivated, you can continue/finish a project during regular classes as long as have a chunk of dedicated time at start (but you need to be honest with yourself and mentor about whether you want to do this!)

Examples of real students’ projects

• Collect public access data (SEER & US census) to correlate trends in disease over time

– Chan JM, Jou RM, Carroll PR. The relative impact and future burden of prostate cancer in the United States. J Urol. 2004

• Assist in review article – Chan JM, Feraco A, Shuman M, Hernandez-Diaz S.Hematol Oncol Clin North Am. 2006.

The epidemiology of prostate cancer--with a focus on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

• Initiate small independent survey study that can be conducted in 6 months; complete write-up during clinical years or after.

– PSA screening practices knowledge and beliefs in a large urban training hospital; Cooperberg et al, pending

Examples of real students’ projects

• Participate in data collection, cleaning, or analysis for ongoing study, and/or…

• Participate in write-up of secondary/minor hypothesis papers (while waiting for follow-up to accrue for main study questions) – Sheriff SK, Shohara RA, Dumican SB, Small EJ, Carroll PR, Chan JM.

Lifestyle correlates of health perception and treatment satisfaction in a clinical cohort of men with prostate cancer. Clin Prostate Cancer. 2005

Examples of real students’ projects

• Assist in medical chart review or database completion to support larger study– Urologic Oncology Database & CaPSURE (Dept. Urology)

– Comparison of recovery times among patients undergoing 2 different types of surgery

– Describing the baseline features and follow-up experience of a population of men on Active Surveillance for prostate cancer

– Comparing tumor focality (or other features at dx) in patients operated on by a single surgeon over two different time periods (…to examine potential effects of screening or identify other temporal trends)

– Examining correlations between body size and clinical features at diagnosis and prognosis in prostate cancer registry study

Searching for a mentor/project

The Bad news…..

There is no comprehensive database of researchers at UCSF

The Good news….

A comprehensive, university-wide, searchable database is planned

With some leg work, you can find appropriate contacts

Where to look: www.USCF.edu

UCSF home page search:

• Departmental websites: many have research tab

• Search for topic plus clinical research eg orthopedic clinical research

• Search for known researcher

Search UCSF: “Orthopedic Clinical Research”

Where to look: Pubmed

Pubmed:

• search for topic and limit to UCSF

• pharmacogenomic AND "university of california" [ad] AND san francisco [ad]

Search Pubmed for UCSF researchers

Where to look

• Ask lecturers, small group leaders for contacts

• Student Research Offices at each of the Schools: Ask for list of mentors and students from last couple years

• Web Resources section of this module

Interesting websites to check

• UCSF CENTER ON SOCIAL DISPARITIES IN HEALTH: http://www.ucsf.edu/csdh/index.html

• Center for health and the community http://www.chc.ucsf.edu

• Institute for health policy studies searchable website of projects: http://ihps.ucsf.edu/servlet/HtmlTemplateProjectSearchServlet?LinkName=projSearch

• Center for AIDS prevention studies (CAPS): http://www.caps.ucsf.edu/resourcesresearchers.php

• Women’s health clinical research center: http://www.whcrc.ucsf.edu/people/faculty.html

• The diabetes center: http://www.diabetes.ucsf.edu/EN/clinical_research/

• Center for Obesity Assessment, Study and Treatment (COAST) http://chc.ucsf.edu/COAST/index.htm

• Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations http://dgim.ucsf.edu/diversity/thematic.html

• UCSF cancer center http://cancer.ucsf.edu/research/

Contacting potential mentors

• Targeted emails (no mass emails)

• Be persistent (ie if no answer, email again)

• Keep it short but concisely say what you are interested in (“summer project in xyz, I have experience in xyz” etc))

• If get a “no” ask if others in department may be willing

Preparing to meet a mentor

• Professional etiquette – treat initial meetings with mentors like a job interview

• Mentors are interested in you but often very busy - help them think of how you can best support or fit into an existing program

• Faculty researchers take on students because:– They like to teach and it keeps things fresh– They may need assistance with a project but be on a budget– They may need someone with clinical training to assist in

data collection/cleaning

Preparing to meet a mentor

• Do your homework: you don’t need to have a project in mind (he/she will help with that) but do a PUBMED search to find out what mentor has done

• Take some time for self-reflection - be objective, know your strengths and weaknesses; know what you are willing to do for a larger experience

Q’s to ask of mentors

• Will they be there during your available time?

• Have they hosted a student before? (get name and contact that person!)

• Explain your availability and goals and ask if they have project for you to work on

Q’s to ask of mentors

If seems a good fit, ask about…

• your specific role

• whether publication, poster etc would be possible and whether you would be author

• ancillary benefits: can you attend conferences in the dept? learn a new software program etc

• Who else is on research team, meetings?

Final thoughts

• Many clinical researchers did not come to the field knowing it was what they had always wanted to do

• Instead, they tried it and loved it!

PACCTR* Curriculum Core

• George Sawaya MD, School of Medicine

• Rebecca Jackson MD, School of Medicine

• Susan Hyde DDS, MPH, PhD, School of Dentistry

• Jennifer Cocohoba PharmD, School of Pharmacy

• Roberta Oka RN, ANP, DNSc, School of Nursing

• Joel Palefsky MD School of Medicine

* Pathways to Careers in Clinical and Translational Research