Research

All two-year fellows receive didactic training in research methods as well as a supervised, practical experience in conducting research. To provide for these training experiences, the amount of research time in the fellows' schedules gradually increases over the course of the fellowship, from 20% time in the first six months to 70% time in the last six months of the two-year program.

Didactic Training - Two-year fellows are encouraged to complete a Master of Science degree in Epidemiology or Health Services Research through the Boston University School of Public Health. They are required to take the intensive basic epidemiology and biostatistics courses in the summer of their first year. Fellows planning careers as physician-scientists are expected to complete the Master of Science degree and also to apply to the CREST (Clinical Research Training) Program (see below).

CREST Program

In June 1999 the Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) was awarded a grant from the National Institutes of Health to develop a Clinical Research Training (CREST) Program. Dr. Rebecca A. Silliman, Chief of the Geriatrics Section, is a CREST investigator and one of its principal faculty. The goal of the CREST Program is to provide a broad range of doctoral level clinical trainees with formal courses that give them a rigorous background in clinical research methods and provides a closely mentored clinical research experience. The CREST Program provides a complementary infrastructure for clinical research training to that already available in the existing Geriatric Medicine Fellowship training program.

Practical Experience - All two-year fellows are required to have a supervised research experience. To meet this requirement, the fellow must:

1. Develop and implement a new research project, or
2. Develop and implement a research project that builds on, or extends, an existing research project.