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ACADEMIC HANDBOOK

ADMISSION

PLME STUDENT SENATE

PLME SLIDESHOWS

THE WARREN ALPERT MEDICAL SCHOOL

BROWN UNIVERSITY

Beginning in 2007, Summer Research Assistantships in Emergency Medicine (SRA-EM) will be made available annually on a competitive basis to students enrolled in the Brown Medical School or Brown's PLME program. Students who are awarded an assistantship will carry out their research project at a Brown-affiliated hospital between June-August, under the supervision and mentorship of a Brown emergency medicine faculty member [e.g. Instructor rank or above].

For the 10-week period, students will be paid a stipend ($3,500 for medical students, $3,000 for undergraduate PLME students). Other employment is usually not authorized during the defined work-week tenure of the assistantship, and academic credit cannot be obtained for work performed under this form of support. It is permissible to use the research done during an assistantship as an element of a thesis to be presented toward a degree, and to obtain academic credit if the student decides to develop and continue the project as independent research during the academic year .

Favorable consideration for an SRA-EM is based on a well-delineated research program involving experimental methods and hypotheses which are appropriate to the student's educational and research background.

PLEASE NOTE

A FACULTY MEMBER MAY SPONSOR ONLY ONE STUDENT PER YEAR FOR AN SRA (i.e. may submit a letter of support on behalf of one student only).

A STUDENT MAY ONLY SUBMIT ONE SUMMER RESEARCH PROPOSAL PER YEAR.

 IMPORTANT DATES

1. OCTOBER ...Notification of this opportunity is communicated to students.
2. FEBRUARY ...Completed applications are submitted to the SRA Office, Arnold Lab 124, (specific date will be posted annually).
3. MARCH ... Proposals are reviewed by the SRA-EM Committee, and awards will be announced at the end of the month.
4. BEFORE SEM I ... Student submits a short written summary/report of their project by the first day of the fall semester. Faculty sponsor completes a short evaluation of the student's experience.

STEPS TO APPLY

1. Student Finds a Faculty Sponsor

Download the EM Faculty Sponsor List.

Contact the faculty whose research is of interest to you and discuss a possible project that you might carry out as a summer research assistant (EM). Students may only submit ONE research proposal, and are urged to identify the faculty sponsor/mentor early in the academic year (i.e., in Semester I before Winter Break) to allow time to thoughtfully plan out a research proposal.

2. Submit Application

Once you decide on a faculty sponsor/mentor and a research topic, please submit the following:

(i) The application should include the coverpage and a brief description of the project 2-3 printed pages maximum. Please write the proposal in the "active voice."

The project should propose a study which can be performed within the allotted 10-week period. However, as noted above, sometimes the summer research is developed by the student and continued as an independent study during the academic year. If you plan to extend your research as an independent study or honors project, outline clearly in your proposal what you plan to complete in the 10-week period and what you intend to carry over beyond the summer assistantship.

Research proposals should include a statement of the student's background, noting pertinent courses and research experience to indicate the appropriateness of the proposed research program to the student's educational level.

(ii) A letter from the faculty sponsor/mentor containing: a brief evaluation of the project, a formal statement that the necessary space, equipment and supplies will be available, and arrangements have been made to provide the student with faculty guidance and supervision. Note: If there is a second faculty sponsor/mentor involved in supervising the student's assistantship, a letter should be submitted by that faculty member as well as the primary sponsor.

(iii) If your project involves human subjects or animal subjects, please provide documentation of Brown University IRB or IACUC approval with your proposal . (For human subjects, this includes data collection from living individuals through interaction or intervention, or data collection of identifiable, private information through secondary data analysis.) Or, please provide documentation that verifies approval by the respective IRB of the institution where the research will be carried out, if other than Brown University.

3. Student Submits Short Written Summary/Report of the project by the first day of the fall semester.

4. Faculty Submits Evaluation of Student Performance by the first day of the fall semester.

For guidelines on use of human subjects, visit http://research.brown.edu/rschadmin/hrpo.php

Please do not hesitate to contact Susan Toppin, Sr. IRB Manager (863-9206) or Susan Carton-Lopez, IRB Manager (863-9639)

Dr. Anne Cushing-Brescia
Director, SRA Program

Hilary Sweigart
Manager, SRA Program

Additional information can be obtained by calling 863-9790 or 863-3133.

OTHER SOURCES FOR SUMMER RESEARCH for PLME STUDENTS:

Summer Research Assistantship (Biological)

Undergraduate Teaching and Research Assistantship (UTRA)http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Dean_of_the_College/utra/.

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PLME Office
Brown University
Box G
Providence, RI 02912
Telephone: 401.863.9790
Fax: 401.863.7411

Last updated: 26 October 2007