STRATEGIC PLAN: Research and Scholarship
NEOMED concentrates its research efforts on six major focus areas including:
- Community-based mental health
- Diabetes, obesity, & metabolism
- Auditory Neuroscience and Hearing Research
- Heart and blood vessel disease
- Musculoskeletal research
- Neurodegenerative disease and aging
1. Develop a transparent, interdisciplinary, equitable process to evaluate research projects and funding priorities.
The major challenge facing the COM research entities is balancing specific projects with not only traditional funding sources, but with philanthropic and other financial resources that have yet to be tapped. Too often there are more excellent research projects that merit attention than funds will allow and faculty workloads will accommodate.
The COM administration and faculty need to develop a collaborative evaluation process that strives to make all research funding decisions involving research projects, organizational structure, faculty recruitment and new faculty hires, as open and collaborative as possible.
2. Build upon the research efforts underway and promote significant faculty, staff, and student accomplishments in the field of research.
In accordance with the University Strategic Plan, the COM will develop translational research projects within the college. While COM has many faculty-driven foundational and basic science and clinical research projects currently underway, teams of faculty and staff from all spectrums of research should be convened to address bench to bedside practices. Because basic science often informs translational research projects, there are many opportunities for faculty, staff and student teams to collaborate to include, but not be limited to the emerging CIPMHC and the recognized University research focus areas.
More work needs to be done to highlight and publicize the important research that is being conducted in the COM.
The research focus areas, the faculty, staff, and students engaged in research projects all deserve to receive greater recognition inside the University and externally to key stakeholder groups such as alumni, clinical partners, government officials, and the general public.
3. Integrate research policies, practices, and methodologies into the COM curriculum.
Currently, there are limited opportunities for students to engage in research projects. During the summer months between M1 and M2, a limited summer internships are available to students who are interested in the process and practice of research. Survey feedback indicated that these internships are limited in number and of short duration.
There are no specific courses in the curriculum that focus on research, however, having research experience can be a positive, distinguishing factor when a student is seeking a medical clerkship. So, providing more research experience opportunities would be a significant benefit for students.
4. Develop research, identify trends, and conduct new teaching methods that advance the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SOTL).
In order to ensure that the COM teaching methods and practices are achieving the highest rates of student retention and competency, faculty can use existing research on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning as well as develop new and innovative ways to develop teaching methodologies that resonate with students and increase their knowledge and competency.
5. Evaluate the effectiveness of the current organizational structure of the COM’s Research Department.
Changes in the COM’s research administrative hierarchy have created questions and concerns about the role Research plays in the COM now and in the future.
As structured currently without a dean level position, the COM department chairs now have more responsibilities for coordinating research. The intent of this structure is to bring research discussions closer to the faculty and provide greater opportunities for collaborative research among the research focus areas and community partners.
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