16

also be evaluated on their level of experience, publication record, trainee history, level of funding, and schedule availability to trainees. The mentor’s level of experience will be important in gaining access to collaborators within and outside the institution, receiving invited publication and speaking opportunities, as well as access to resources. The mentor’s publication record should also be evaluated to determine their level of productivity and ability to bring projects to closure. In addition, how well has the mentor done with trainees in the past? What was the background of their trainees, what was the measurement of their success, and where are they now? The mentor’s history of trainee success is a strong indicator of quality mentorship. Basic science research is resource intensive and the mentor’s funding level is important in that it will determine the level of stability of the research over the course of the mentorship. A mentor whose funding is about to expire could lead to instability in the lab, resulting in delay of research progress. Institutional investment in mentor’s science (i.e., internal funding, endowments, development support) is also an important indicator of funding stability. Another important mentor feature is schedule availability for regular meetings with the mentee. Will the mentor be able to meet daily or weekly with the mentee to discuss ideas and research progress? Successful mentorship requires time and presence. In summary, choosing a mentor is the most important decision of the research process. Successful mentorship is a predictor of future academic and scientific success and should be approached with the most careful of consideration (4). It is imperative that the investigator can have open and honest discussions with the mentor. The personalities of the individuals involved will be important in the success or failure of such a partnership. Mentorship should be recognized as an evolutionary process that will change with the career phase and needs of the mentee and the mentor. Great mentorship has the possibility of evolving into a lifelong friendship that benefits both the mentor and mentee. AREA OF STUDY Deciding on an area of research focus is the other crucial decision for the new investigator, and is a decision that often occurs concurrently with the choice of mentor(s). In emergency medicine, basic science research has concentrated in a few key areas including infection (sepsis/septic shock), respiratory/allergy, cardiac resuscitation, hemorrhagic/hypotension/ischemia-reperfusion, lung injury, and aging (geriatrics) (3). Selection of a study area is guided by the investigators interest and background, but may require compromise depending on the priorities of the mentor and the trainee’s institution. The new investigator should read extensively in their area of interest and meet with potential mentors to discuss possible research topics. Selection of a research area is often inseparable from the mentorship search since the new investigator will often be working on projects closely related to the mentor’s expertise. Another factor should be the mentees previous background and skills set. Does the mentee have previous experience in the chosen field? Often it makes sense to build on prior strengths. Finally there must be synergy between the mentee, the mentor and the institution for the chosen research area. The reason for synergy between mentee and mentor has been mentioned but institutional support is important as well. If the institution lacks collaborators or shared equipment facilities, or leadership support for the chosen research field, success will be more difficult. Finding the needed expertise and resources may require help from your department or division to find investigators with similar interests at your institution outside of emergency medicine. The SAEM career development guide online offers additional advice on formulating the research question and can be found online at http://issuu.com/saemonline/docs/emergency-medicine-academic-career-guide. 28 CHAPTER 5 — KEY ISSUES IN BASIC SCIENCE EMERGENCY CARE RESEARCH MODEL AND MODEL DEVELOPMENT Once mentorship and an area of study have been selected, the new investigator is ready to begin the “business of science.” To study pathophysiological concepts of disease, scientists often use biochemical, cellular, tissue, and animal models. This is often necessitated by the inability to study these mechanisms in human patients or the lack of available human subjects or tissue. Reactions between purified enzymes or proteins are used to model biochemical reactions inside cells or the circulation. Cellular models are also used to understand how environmental changes affect cells within a tissue. For example, isolated cardiac myocytes exposed to defined ischemic conditions in a perfusion system can recreate the conditions of cardiac arrest and myocardial infarction at the cellular level to better understand contractile, biochemical, and molecular changes. Animal models are then used to further verify and test concepts learned from cellular and biochemical models. An important caveat to the use of biochemical, cellular, and animal models is that they are somewhat artificial in nature and may not entirely reflect the desired human pathology entirely. This concern usually means that multiple studies must be 

1   2    3    4    5    6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25