Research Department

Introduction

The role of the Research Department is to promote and conduct medical research and provide support for the research activities of the medical faculty and resident physicians.  We assist the faculty and residents in using evidence from scientific studies, applying research and statistical methods, and presenting and publishing original research findings.  An additional key role is to support curriculum development and assessment of competency-based residency education.

Resident Research

Research Department staff work with the four NHRMC residency program areas (Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Family Medicine, and Obstetrics & Gynecology) and the Neonatology department. Individual researchers are dedicated to specific program areas and work with residents to define research questions, plan and conduct studies, and analyze and report findings. Many of the residents go on to present their study findings at medical conferences around the country. Every year several residents prepare their findings and submit them for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

IRB

The Research Department assists the NHRMC research community in protecting the rights of human participants in research by complying with the procedures of the NHRMC Institutional Review Board. Applications and annual reports to the IRB are prepared and submitted with the assistance of the research staff.  

Externally-Funded Research

The Research Department actively solicits research grants that support the interests of faculty and residents. Currently we are working with two projects:  Expecting the Best, a health literacy curriculum supported by the March of Dimes, and Improving Cancer Outcomes for African-Americans, a collaborative project with NHRMC, UNC-CH, and UNCW, funded by the National Cancer Institute.