K30 Master of Science in Public Health (MSPH) in Clinical Research

            There is a growing interest in medical and other health science schools in developing the clinical research skills of faculty members and fellows.  This interest has been fueled by increased support from the NIH to prepare such individuals to meet the demand for clinical investigators in the field.  Locally, the Schools of Medicine and Public Health have combined efforts to create a training program for young faculty members and fellows from a variety of disciplines.

            This program is a post-medical or other health science degree training program, aimed primarily at fellows and faculty members interested in developing skills required for clinical research.  It is anticipated that this academic training will supplement extensive training in the content area in which the student is trained and senior mentoring in the politics and policies of project development and management.  A graduate of this program will have the academic training to develop and lead independent research programs and projects.  The program consists of a core set of courses common to all students, plus research elective and focus elective courses that reflect the academic interest of the student.  At this time, the program can accommodate students with specific interest in biostatistics (CRBS), epidemiology (CREP), environmental health (CREH), and health behavior (CRHB).  As a result, there will be some variation in the specific knowledge and skills acquired by each graduate.  However, the primary learning objectives will apply to all students, irrespective of departmental affiliation.  As such, graduates will be able to do the following upon completion of the program:

·             design, conduct, and evaluate clinical research studies;

·             understand issues of data collection and study management;

·             follow appropriate policies and procedures relating to the utilization of
    human subjects in clinical research;

·             demonstrate an understanding of the ethics of research on human subjects;

·             prepare competitive applications for extramural research funding;

·             prepare manuscripts for publication in the scientific literature; and

·             critically evaluate published research.

 

            Admission.  Applicants should possess a medical or other health science professional degree.  They may be in their final years of training as residents or fellows or hold positions as junior faculty members.  The Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is required for applications to all MSPH programs in the School of Public Health.  Scores of 550 or better on each of the three sections of the general test (verbal, quantitative, and analytical writing) are preferred.  The GRE may be waived at the discretion of the committee, for applicants who have been pre-screened by the clinical investigator training grant committee of the School of Medicine.  The applicant must produce three letters of reference and a letter stating that he/she will be guaranteed sufficient release time from clinical duties to be able to attend classes regularly and fulfill course requirements in a timely manner.  A medical/health sciences mentor should be identified as should a setting where the student can gain experience in conducting clinical research.  A faculty member within the School of Public Health will be assigned as an advisor based on the stated interests of the applicant.

            Curriculum.  The MSPH in Clinical Research consists of a minimum of 41 credit hours. Of these, 14 hours are required, including 9 hours of specific Biostatistics courses and 5 hours of specific Epidemiology courses.  Students then select at least 9 credit hours from a list of approved Masters Research Electives, complete 9 hours of focus specific electives in Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Environmental Health, or Health Behavior, and take at least 9 hours of directed (699 level) Masters research to fulfill the MSPH requirement for conducting a research project.

Coursework                                                                                                    Credit Hours

Required Core Courses                                                                                          14

BST 611*        Biostatistics I                                                                                       3 

BST 612*        Biostatistics II                                                                                      3 

EPI 607           Epidemiology of Clinical Research                                                     3 

BST 625          Design and Conduct of Clinical Trials                                                3 

EPI 680           Topics in Clinical Research (P/NP)                                                    2 

 

Masters Research Electives†                                                                                 9   

A minimum of 9 credit hours taken from the following courses (selected by faculty

advisor and student):

 

BST 619             Data Collection and Management                                       3

EPI 625/625L     Quantitative Methods in Epidemiology                                 5

 

EPI 626 & 627   Introduction to SAS (2 hours)                                                          

OR                                                                                                                  2 or 3

BST 626/626L    Data Management/Reporting with SAS (3 hours)                                      

 

EPI 703              Special Topics in the Epidemiology of Chronic Disease

                           (This course focuses on writing proposals for funding)      3

EPI 709              Theoretical Basis of Epidemiology                                      3

HB 678               Advanced Theory and Practice in Behavioral Science       3

HCO 677            Patient-Based Outcomes Measurement                             3

ENH 650             Essentials of Environmental and Occupational

                           Toxicology and Diseases                                                    5

 

Focus Specific Electives                                                                                         9 

9 hours of electives in field of study (selected by faculty advisor and student).  With approval of the advisor, courses included in the Research Electives that are not taken to meet that requirement may be taken as a part of the Focus Specific Electives.

 

Masters Project Research                                                                                      9

9 hours of directed research in a clinical setting

BST 699, EPI 699, HB 699, or ENH 699

 

* Students who want to focus their degree on Biostatistics should take BST621/622 rather than BST611/612 since the former are prerequisites for more advanced Biostatistics focus courses.  In addition, other students who wish to receive higher level mathematical training in Biostatistics could substitute BST621/622 for BST611/612.

 

† Care must be exercised when selecting some of these courses since some have prerequisites that must be taken earlier in the sequence of classes or taken concurrently.

 

 

For more information, please contact:

Melissa Mauser Galvin, PhD, MPH, Interim Associate Dean of Academic and Strategic Programs

Email:  mgalvin@uab.edu  

Phone:  205-934-0361

 

 

Approved by:  Melissa Mauser Galvin, PhD, MPH, Interim Associate Dean of Academic and Strategic Programs

Date:  December 4, 2007

 

 

Click here to return to the SOM Research Web Site's home page.