Under the direction of Chandan Sen, PhD, Associate Vice Chair of Research, for Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Surgery, resident research is being restructured to meet the guidelines and expectations for a T32 Training Grant application in three years.
“Development of a well-structured mentored surgeon scientist development program will be central to the overall success of the research mission of our department.” Said Sen.
This application requires a dashboard over several years documenting formal review of resident applications for their two-year research experience and criteria-based selection of faculty research mentors and research laboratories. Sen has created a research council that will meet monthly, followed by a research seminar open to all faculty where residents participating in research will present their work for review and assistance by members of the research council. Another change that will be required in this transition is tightening of the scope of research defined by well-developed specific aims as residents enter their research years.
The National Institutes of Health expects development and testing of pointed hypotheses by the peer review process. This is a very exciting transition and under Sen’s leadership and the active involvement of the entire department, it is hoped that the Department of Surgery will become only the 10th surgery department to receive a T32 Training Grant in the U.S.
