Scholarly project proposals are to be submitted electronically and are reviewed by the RISE Project Review Committee. Projects submitted will be assessed based on the following evaluative criteria:

1. Professionalism and clarity of the application.
2. Formulation of a clear scholarly question.
3. Significance of this scholarly question to the field.
4. Description and understanding of the methodologies involved.
5. Feasibility of the scholarly project.
6. Expectation that the results of the scholarly project will result in an abstract/publication.
7. Benefit of the project to the student’s scholarly growth.

The student must present a well-defined scholarly project proposal in order to be considered for the elective. Some student project proposals may be of an original design, while others may stem from grants initiated by their mentors. Whereas most projects are of an individual effort, some may be group projects. Separate proposals must be submitted by each member of a group project. In all cases, either individual or group, the student must clarify their specific role in the project. In January, a link to the application platform will be emailed to MCOM students.

• Project title
• Abstract/Synopsis
• Hypothesis, primary and secondary objectives or specific aims of the proposed project
• Significance and background of the proposed project including literature support (can utilize the PI’s basic project design but it must be acknowledged and articulated by the student)
• What methods will be used to accomplish this project?
• What milestones will be achieved this summer?
• How will these specific milestones contribute to the completion of the overall project?
• Include the time-line for the whole project. Include travel dates if applicable as well as how long the student will be at the international location.
• What part (if any) of the project will continue beyond the summer?
• List of references
  
  

Letter(s) of support from the Project Mentor(s) is required.

Scholarly projects involving human subject research conducted outside of USF require IRB approval from both institutions.

When performing or presenting research outside of the US, medical students must comply with the rules and regulations as documented on the Medicine International website. Be sure to allow enough time and make sure you are aware of all required documentation before embarking.

Expectations for this summer program for the students and mentors will be conveyed via email. It is assumed that the students will work on their projects longer than the elective time. 

This is a MCOM medical student summer research experience with the intent of assisting with living expenses as well as costs related to presenting the summer project. Should medical students be accepted to the elective, they may not accept/receive any other funding from an alternative source even if it is for a different project.

EXPECTATION OF THE ELECTIVE:

• Submit a complete protocol including ethical and necessary permissions       
• Be in good academic standing and progressing to the MSII year             
• Fulfill all USF HR requirements for disbursement of award            
• Receive approval if applicable, from USF IRB/IACUC by start of experience           
• Complete all reporting requirements throughout the SSAE             
• Submit abstract based on funded project        
• Present at Research Day (if applicable) - Can defer to Year 3 or 4 if data not ready
  
  

Mentors are to:

• Review the ethical (IRB/IACUC) and necessary permissions needed when doing patient outcomes or lab-based research
• Guide the development of the scholarly or capstone project
• Meet at minimum once per week with the mentee to discuss the progress of their scholarly project.
• Help students to learn written documentation and oral presentation skills
• Assist the student in preparing and/or finalizing an abstract based on their summer scholarly project

Future expectations would be to assist the medical student with presentations for the Annual RISE Student Symposium, USF Health Research Day, and local and national meetings.