| Sections | |
|
Program Goals Program Description Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 |
Year 4 Clinics Focus Areas Extramural Studies Clinical Competencies Veterinarian's Oath |
Focus Area for Clinician Scientist
Focus Area Leader
Dr. Matthew Breen
Description of the Focus Area
The purpose of the Clinician Scientist Focus Area (CSFA) is to provide veterinary students with research opportunities that combine clinical and basic science. This focus area will be beneficial to two groups of students; firstly, those students who wish to pursue careers in basic science, and secondly, students that are interested in pursuing an academic career as a veterinary specialist. This focus area does not provide research training that would be equivalent to a Master's or PhD degree, but begins to teach the fundamental skills of scientific critical thinking and communication (written and oral), gives exposure to both bench and clinical research, and offers insight into non-traditional career choices involving research in veterinary medicine. Students in this focus area should plan to spend at least their first summer doing research. Research is also a substantial component of the 4th year experience.
Many faculty members have agreed to be advisors to students that select this focus area. Students who select the Clinician Scientist Focus Area select a primary advisor whom would then help the student assemble a small committee (composed of clinical and basic scientists) tailored to the interests and aims of the student. This committee guides the student during his/her program and assists in selecting the appropriate selectives and senior rotations, depending on the interests of the student and the research topic chosen for study. The focus area leader will provide oversight for the mentorship/planning process by approving all individual study plans generated by students and their advising committees. The focus area leader will also be responsible for approving externships (clinical or research) that are recommended via the advising process.
Advisors
Dr. Glen Almond
Dr. Craig Altier
Dr. Kevin Anderson
Dr. Prema Arasu
Dr. Jill Barnes
Dr. Anthony Blikslager
Dr. Matthew Breen
Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt
Dr. John Cullen
Dr. Gregg Dean
Dr. Peter Farin
Dr. John Gadsby
Dr. Sarah Gardner
Dr. Jody Gookin
Dr. Marlene Hauck
Dr. Paul Hess
Dr. Sam Jones
Dr. Duncan Lascelles
Dr. Jay Levine
Dr. David Ley
Dr. Keith Linder
Dr. Denis Marcellin
Dr. Linda Martin
Dr. Chris McGahan
Dr. Natasha Olby
Dr. Thierry Olivry
Dr. Jorge Piedrahita
Dr. Carlos Pinto
Dr. Jim Riviere
Dr. Simon Roe
Dr. Mary Tompkins
Steps to Pursue the Clinician Scientist Focus Area
- Attend VMB 991D “Introduction to Research at the CVM” selective in the fall of the 1st year.
- Identify an advisor by the end of the first year who can guide summer research experiences, selective and senior rotation choices.*
- With the chosen advisor, design a guidance committee consisting of at least one basic scientist and one clinical scientist. Committee formation is to be completed and approved by the CSFA coordinators by the end of the first year.
- Outline CVM selectives and other activities (see below) with guidance from your mentor committee.
- In consultation with advisor committee, declare a clinical interest area by the end of the 2nd year.
- Make contacts/arrangements for internships/externships during summers and 4th year. (This will include at least one summer research experience after the 1st yr.)
- Plan 4 th year CVM rotations (These will include 6 to 8 blocks of research experience.)
- The CSFA is designed to start in the first year of the DVM curriculum to give students the greatest flexibility and oversight for their individualized, mentor-driven instructional program. In cases where a student has substantial previous research experience, he/she may be allowed to start in the second year but only with approval from the CSFA co-coordinators. It is expected that such second year starts will be rare events.
Year 1-3 Requirements
VMB 991D: Introduction to Research at the CVM
"Introduction to Research at the CVM (VMB991D)" is offered in the fall semester as a one-week selective and is required for all students interested in this focus area. Students are expected to take this selective in the fall of the 1st yr of the DVM curriculum. This selective is open to any student interested in exploring the possibility of choosing the CSFA.
In this selective, mentors in the different areas of clinical and basic research experience will present. This selective will be divided into identifiable areas of research based on the group of participating mentors (i.e. oncology, neurology, therio, etc., ideally combining both basic and clinical aspects of research), with each group responsible for presenting their area of interest to the students. Students will be required to interview briefly with three potential mentors during the time of the selective. Students will also be required to prepare a personal statement indicating their personal and academic goals, their reasons for choosing the CSFA, and their reasons for pursuing a particular mentor opportunity.
Summer Research
In addition to the required coursework, there is a requirement to spend at least the first summer doing research approved by the advising committee. In the rare event that a student with substantial prior research experience is accepted into the program in the second year, it is expected that the student will spend the second summer doing research approved by the advising committee.
Year 1-3 Recommended Courses
Selectives will be chosen based upon the career goals and research interests of the individual student, in consultation with their primary mentor and committee. Students are encouraged, although not required, to take additional research-related selectives (i.e. Molecular Medicine Initiative selectives such as Transgenics, Developmental Toxicology and Teratology, Embryo Biotechnology Research; or VMB 992E Biomedical Research Experience).
Fourth Year Required Rotations
Required Rotations
- VMB 976 - Radiology Rotation
- VMB 970 - Clinical Anesthesia Rotation
- VMP 977 - Clinical Laboratory and Necropsy
- VMP 978 - Clinical Pathology
- VMB 962 - Research Experience - Clinician Scientist (4 blocks); A minimum of 2 blocks (4 weeks) must be taken in succession. Prerequisites for taking this rotation include at least 1 summer research experience, "Introduction to Research at the CVM" selective (VMB991D) and commitment to the CSFA. [It is also highly recommended that students in this focus area choose VMB 962 for additional “elective” rotations.]
Choose one medicine rotation:
- VMC 971 – Small Animal Internal Medicine -or-
- VMC 979 - Equine Medicine
Choose one surgery rotation:
- VMC 973 – Small Animal Surgery -or-
- VMC 975 - Equine General Surgery
Choose one emergency or critical care rotation:
- VMC 976 – Veterinary Critical Care Medicine -or-
- VMC 966 - Large Animal Emergency/Critical Care Medicine -or-
- VMC 960 – Small Animal Emergency Medicine
Choose one population medicine rotation:
- VMC 981 - Laboratory Animal Medicine -or-
- VMC 989 - Zoological Medicine -or-
- VMP 970 - Ruminant Health Management -or-
- VMP 982 - Poultry Health Management I -or-
- VMP 984 - Swine Medicine I -or-
- VMP 979 - Epidemiology
Choose two specialty rotations:
- VMC 986 Advanced Small Animal Medicine
- VMC 970 Community Classroom
- VMC 972 Cardiology
- VMC 980 Oncology
- VMC 982 Ophthalmology
- VMC 983 Dermatology
- VMC 984 Neurology
- VMC 977 Equine Preventive Health Care
- VMC 978 Equine Lameness
- VMP 990 Large Animal Community Classroom
- VMC 990 Musculoskeletal Ultrasound (equine)
- VMC 993 Equine Special Topics
- VMC 987 Aquatic Medicine
- VMC 988 Special Species
Other Rotations
Students choosing the CSFA will create a list of other required clinical senior rotations (up to a maximum of 16 total required rotations). CSFA students will then be given equal priority for their required rotations with students in the other focus areas. This list must be completed and approved by the guidance committee by the end of the second year.
Other Experiences
Scientific Communication
Clinical Conference
All fourth year students must give a 20-minute oral presentation of their choice during their senior year.This provides opportunity to present the results of research performed during the senior research rotations and/or performed during summer research experiences.
CVM Annual Research Forum
All CSFA students will be expected to present the results of their summer research experiences at the CVM research forum. Presentation can take the form of a poster or an oral presentation, but must include a written abstract.
Research Summary
All CSFA students must prepare a written summary of their research experience for the CSFA coordinators by the end of their 4 th year. Although submission of a manuscript or grant application s not a formal requirement of the CSFA, the research summary can take the form of a manuscript submitted for publication or a grant application that includes preliminary data from the research performed.
Presentation of research findings at local, national, or international conferences will also be strongly encouraged.
Employment Opportunities/Externships/Funding
Research experience during at least the first summer is a critical component of this focus area. The CVM offers a summer research program for veterinary students (the Merck Merial Veterinary Scholars Program), which includes work in the lab of a CVM faculty member or that of a scientist at selected local institutions. Other summer research opportunities may be arranged in coordination with the primary advisor and advisory committee. Information on the Merck Merial Program and some other summer research opportunities are available here under the heading “Summer Research Internship Programs.
” Due to the limited time and high degree of importance of the summer research experience, the advisory committee and the CSFA coordinators must approve all summer research opportunities. In addition, some type of research experience, either clinical or bench research, will be a component of the 4th year rotations. Doing research in the same laboratory and/or on the same project for an extended period of time is not only allowed, but also encouraged as a means to gain substantial research experience that may result in publishable findings.
Research Opportunities outside NCSU
- UNC-CH
- Duke University
- NIEHS
- EPA
- CIIT
- Glaxo-SmithKline
- Wake Forest University
Other Externship Possibilities
- NIH Summer Internship Program in Biomedical Research: http://www.training.nih.gov/student /inte rnship/internship.asp
- Center for Corporate and Government Veterinary Medicine (a resource to help train veterinary students in a variety of non-practice careers): http://www.vetmed.umd.edu/cgcvm/lab-animal.html
Funding
- Merck Merial Veterinary Scholars Program - This program is currently coordinated by CVM faculty Drs. Sam Jones and Jody Gookin. This program provides salary support for research within the CVM or at selected local institutions. Participation in this program (or an equivalent experience) is required for CSFA students in the summer following the first year.
- Some of the above – mentioned externship opportunities may include stipends for veterinary students (e.g., NIH).
- The U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) Commissioned Corps offers two excellent opportunities for students in commissionable health-related categories throughout the academic year through the Junior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program (JRCOSTEP) and Senior Commissioned Officer Student Training and Extern Program (SRCOSTEP): http://www.usphs.gov/html/students.html .
- Fundamentals of Veterinary Science Summer School at the University of Cambridge: http://www.vet.cam.ac.uk/summerschool.
Conferences
Students may benefit from attending or presenting at a scientific conference. Annual meetings to consider will depend upon the area of research in which students are engaged. Some meetings to consider are:
- American Association of Cancer Research (4-5 day meeting, typically in March or April)
- American Thoracic Society (international meeting in May; post-graduate scientific/research courses available prior to the meeting)
- Aspen Lung Conference (4 days in early June)
- ACVIM
- Canine Genetics Meeting
- Keystone Meetings (several meetings per year in multiple areas of biomedical sciences)
- Cold Spring Harbor Meetings (same as above)
NCSU-CVM Rounds/Seminars/Journal Clubs
- CVM “First Fridays” Seminar series – 1st Friday of each month, 12:30 – 1:30p.m., Dr. Fuller
- Oncology Journal club - Tuesdays, 8-9 a.m., Dr. Hauck
- Immunology Journal club - Friday, 9-10 a.m., Dr. Tonkonogy
- GI Physiology Journal club, Dr. Jones
- Clinical Pathology Journal club - Monday, 12-1 p.m., Dr. Grindem
- Research seminars - several ongoing series, as well as guest/invited speakers (usually posted on CVM listserv)
- Visiting Pulmonary Scholar Series - jointly sponsored by NCSU, Duke, NIEHS, UNC Chapel Hill, EPA, GSK, Sepracor. Meets first Wed. of the month Oct. - March at the Searle Center, Duke University from 5PM - 8PM. Dinner is included. Free of charge. NCSU contact: Dr. Adler.
- NC Triangle Immunology Interest Group – First Monday of the month at the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, pizza and soda at 5:30 p.m., talks at 6:00 p.m. Free of charge. NCSU contact: Dr. Dean.
Extracurricular Activities
- PATHHEADS Student Pathology Club
Other Useful Information
Recommended Journals
- American Journal of Veterinary Research
- Comparative Medicine
- Clinical Cancer Research or any journal in your research area
- American Journal of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine
- Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
- Nature Medicine
- Nature Biotechnology
- Nature Genetics
Recommended Memberships
- Memberships in the appropriate research and/or clinical societies may be suggested by a student's advisory committee
American Thoracic Society (www.thoracic.org)
American Association of Cancer Research (www.aacr.org)
- E.g. AVMA, ACVIM, ACVP
Recommended Electronic Mailing List
- For Medical Genomics: Visit http://www.GenomeNewsNetwork.org (Sign up to get their news mailings.)
Useful Internet Sites
- The NCSU research web page is: http://cvm.ncsu.edu/research . This site contains information about the faculty at NCSU, as well as answers to common questions (such as who to contact for help with broken lab equipment).
- There are many websites for specific areas of research, such as: www.aacr.org
www.thoracic.org - Here's the site for NCSU IACUC general information, including links to the protocol form: http://www.ncsu.edu/sparcs/compliance/iacuc1.html . This is necessary for any research involving animals.
- Biosecurity and Foodborne Pathogens webpage
http://www2.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/project/foodborne/
http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/update
This website provides updates from the free access press regarding high impact/highly cited articles in a wide variety of biologically-relevant areas of research.