Publicly Available Data Workshop

The Publicly Available Data Workshop, led by Dr. Danielle Fastring, Associate Dean of Research, and Dr. Kelsey Keel, Director of Student Research, is a competitive, approximately 10-week virtual summer research experience offered to WCUCOM medical students following completion of the OMS-I year. Students in good academic standing apply in teams of four, with each team submitting one application and pitching one proposed research project for consideration. The publicly available datasets selected for use each summer are announced in the application flyer, along with detailed instructions for completing the application and developing the research project pitch.

Accepted teams receive structured faculty mentorship throughout the workshop as they move through the research process, including refining their research proposal and question, defining study variables, conducting statistical analyses, interpreting results, refining individual poster sections, and ultimately developing a professional research poster. Because the workshop is conducted virtually, students can participate regardless of where they spend their summer and may complete the experience alongside other summer opportunities.

At the conclusion of the workshop, teams may present their completed posters at the WCUCOM Summer Research Symposium, where they have the opportunity to showcase their research to WCU faculty and the incoming OMS-I class during orientation. Projects developed through the Publicly Available Data Workshop may also be continued beyond the summer, with students encouraged to further develop promising work for potential manuscript submission and publication.