New program incorporates research into medical training

Medical Research students UNTHSC

A new collaborative effort between UNT Health Science Center and Cook Children’s Medical Center is providing a unique learning experience for several UNTHSC first-year medical students.

Medical research has often been an under-represented component of undergraduate medical education. To address this need, W. Paul Bowman, MD, Chairman of Pediatrics at UNTHSC, and Don P. Wilson, MD, Medical Director of Medical Education at Cook Children’s, engaged a group of scientists, educators and clinicians to create a research elective with the goal of providing a mentored research experience for first-year students.

Twenty-five UNTHSC students were provided options to participate in various areas of Pediatrics, including Anesthesiology, Cancer, Endocrinology, Hematology-Oncology, Human Genetics, Neonatology, Neurology and Neurosurgery. The students were teamed with a mentor, who was either a pediatric physician or researcher.

They were tasked to formulate a research hypothesis, design and implement a research study, analyze the data collected, prepare a final manuscript and present an abstract to at least one medical meeting.

“We have found that medical students may be keenly interested in pediatric research and capable of undertaking successful projects under the guidance of committed mentors,” Dr. Bowman said. “A one-month summer experience provides only enough time for a preliminary experience, but may set the stage for continuing productive research in the ensuing year of medical school, as well as enhancing the student’s capacity to appreciate and critically analyze the research literature.”

The students have presented their findings at Children’s Oncology Group’s Fourth Annual Young Investigators Poster Session in Dallas; Texas Osteopathic Medical Association’s 59th Mid-Winter Conference in Dallas; 2015 Latino Medical Student Association Southwest Research Symposium in Fort Worth; PESTOLA 2015 (Pediatric Endocrine Society of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas) in Dallas.

Students also will be presenting at UNTHSC’s 23rd Annual Research Appreciation Day; Pediatric Academic Societies’ 2015 Annual Meeting in San Diego, Calif.; the 56th National Student Research Forum in Galveston; and the Texas and National Lipid Association in Chicago.

In the photo from left to right: Amol Patel (TCOM ’17), Knoelle Park (TCOM ’17), Peter Deleeuw (TCOM ’17), Sameer Prakash (TCOM ’17), Jennigale Webb (TCOM ’15) and Nayana Baby (TCOM ’17)

Recent News

Dr. Teresa Wagner 768x960 1 240x300
  • Our People
|Jul 9, 2025

Dr. Teresa Wagner co-authors a national statement on health literacy from an interprofessional perspective

Teresa Wagner, DrPH, associate professor in the College of Public Health at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth, collaborated with interprofessional colleagues on a national health literacy statement on behalf of the National Academies of Practice. The National Acade...
Professional Photo Wesling 2025
  • Community
|Jul 8, 2025

College of Pharmacy’s Dr. Megan Wesling to join the AACP Academic Leadership Fellows Program

Megan Wesling, PharmD, chair and associate professor in the Department of Pharmacotherapy at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth College of Pharmacy, has been selected for the 22nd cohort of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Academic Leadership Fellow...
Hsc Leadership Team.
  • Our People
|Jul 3, 2025

TCOM’s Dr. Frank Filipetto among the first in world to earn Certified Professional in Human Factors in Health Care

Frank Filipetto, DO, CPPS, CPHFH, FACOFP, one of the leading voices for changing how health care is delivered, has become one of the first in the world to earn the Certified Professional in Human Factors in Health Care credential. Filipetto, an Everett Endowed Distinguished Professor at The Unive...
Tonychris Nnaka Headshot 240x300
  • Our People
|Jul 1, 2025

American Academy of Nursing to induct Tonychris Nnaka into 2025 class of fellows

Tonychris Nnaka, Ph.D., MPH, RN, CPH, associate dean for research and associate professor at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth’s College of Nursing, will be inducted into the American Academy of Nursing’s 2025 class of fellows during the organization’s annua...