Research

Research Opportunities

Undergraduate and medical students often have an interest in joining research projects in lab or clinical settings. Learn more about the possibilities by contacting our Medical Education Research Advisor, Beth Zander at zande001@umn.edu, or attending our SIGN Research Networking Night.

Advice for students seeking research

By Christopher Streib, MD, MS, Vascular Neurology Fellowship Director

I have been fortunate to collaborate with medical students at the University of Minnesota on multiple stroke research projects. The medical students that I have worked with are driven, extremely capable, and have all successfully presented research at both local and national conferences, in addition to publishing their work in highly regarded journals. These accomplishments, and the skillset developed in the process, is something that many trainees often do not accomplish until later in residency or fellowship (myself included), if at all. I have been extremely impressed by the achievements of the medical students working with me. My advice for students interested in research is to:

1. Find a topic that you are interested in, one that you will enjoy working on in your "free time”.
2. Use dedicated free time (summer breaks, research electives) to help move projects forward by finalizing data acquisition, completing literature reviews, etc. Dedicated time is vital for research, and is less available to your attending and resident collaborators.
3. Find a mentor with a clearly defined project. Ensure that your mentor has time to meet with you and guide your progress, preferably a mentor with a track- record of publication and collaboration with trainees.
4. Be self-sufficient. Learn basic skills such as how to use Excel and REDCAP, which will help the rest of your career. If you have proficiency in basic statistical software that is even more helpful. The more work you can complete independently, the faster your project will get done and the more likely it is to be submitted and published. Also, the larger your role, the higher you will appear in the author order.
5. Own the project. While the mentor will guide you in terms of clinical relevance and methodology, you should be the expert and have the best understanding of the project and the data. This will help you present, publish, and also knowledgeably discuss your research as you move forward with interviews and applications.