Research Distinction Track Requirements

Students must be in good academic standing at the time of application and remain in good academic standing, defined as having passing grades in all courses, clerkships, and USMLE exams and no competency violations verified by the Medical Student Promotions and Professional Standards Committee (MSPPSC), throughout the program. They must also have attended all research sessions offered during Year 1/Year 2. In order to apply to the RDT and graduate with a “Distinction in Research”, the following requirements must be completed:

  1. Identification and selection of a primary faculty mentor
    • Students identify and select a College of Medicine primary faculty mentor who is willing to supervise their participation, provide guidance, space, and resources for the conduct and reporting of the research. *If you are interested in applying for admission into the track, but your primary COM faculty research mentor is not on this list, please ask them to contact Ewa P. Wojcikiewicz, Ph.D. for more information about the COM faculty mentor submission and review process.
    • Primary faculty mentor letter of nomination submitted by the student with their Initial Application.
  2. Demonstrate significant participation in mentored research throughout all 4 years as outlined in their Independent Research Plan (IRP)
    • FAU students may include research experience that was initiated pre-matriculation if the research process is ongoing.
    • Students may use a combination of experiences from Year 1 thru Year 4 to demonstrate mentored research participation (including work completed during breaks and research elective hours).
    • Student must complete 8-weeks of active, full-time mentored research during Year 1 summer. The student is expected to continue with ongoing research activities such as literature searches, manuscript preparation, additional data collection, etc.
    • Students may complete research projects with different faculty mentors with the goal for a first-authored publication (all projects must be outlined in IRP with primary faculty mentor).
  3. Completion of online “Research to Publication” training modules developed by University of California San Francisco Clinical Translational Science Institute (UCSF CTSI) and British Medical Journal (BMJ).
    • Students must complete select prerequisite modules by Initial Application submission and the remainder of the required modules by Midpoint Review.
  4. Statement of research interest
    • Students provide narrative describing their research interests, academic and career goals and how they plan to reach them. Student may also describe previous research experience if applicable.
    • Students submit their Statement of Research Interest with their Initial Application. 
  5. Involvement in other research-related activities relevant to the student’s area of research throughout all 4 years.
    • Students must document participation in a) leadership of journal club discussions; b) oral presentation of research within a department/unit; c) attendance at grand rounds, seminars, or laboratory meetings; and training activities related to the research project
    • Students are responsible for tracking their participation in the research activity log and submitting the log at initial application, midpoint review and graduation review.
  6. Presentation of research findings in poster or oral format at one local and one regional or national meeting.
  7. Publication of a first-author manuscript
    • Submission of one or more manuscripts (submitted, under review, or published) to a peer-reviewed journal by December 1 of the M4 year. Although first authorship is strongly recommended, the Research and Scholarship Committee (RSC) will evaluate manuscripts on the basis of scope, quality, and the candidate’s contribution to the work according to ICMJE recommendations .
  8. Curriculum Vitae (CV)
    • Students submit their CV including their research experience and accomplishments at Initial Application and the Graduation Review. 
  9. Primary Faculty Mentor Graduation Letter
    • This letter should objectively review the student's research and include a summary of the student's activities throughout the four years. This letter is required for the Graduation review.
  10. Evaluation of Research Distinction Track and Mentor/Mentee
    • Each RDT student and primary faculty mentor must complete the online RDT evaluation prior to the Graduation review (embargoed until after the student graduates).
Additional Information
The Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine offers students a variety of educational programs and degrees.
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