Curriculum

Instructors: Mary E. Charlson, MD, Ralph Horwitz, MD and Mario F.L. Gaudino, MD, MS, PhD  

The objective of this course is to teach the basic architecture of clinical and health services research with an emphasis on three critical components; the population, interventions, and outcomes. The scientific method and hypothesis development are emphasized. Students also learn about different study designs, and specific challenges in both observational and interventional, both experimental and quasi-experimental, study designs. They learn about cohort and case-control studies, the bias associated with each different design, and basic principles of measurement for categorical and continuous data, including the sources of variance. They learn how to evaluate the validity and reliability of data. The course emphasizes critical appraisal of the published literature to illustrate threats to validity. At the end of the course, students are able to develop a detailed proposal for their own project. 

Instructors: Andy Hickner, Drew Wright and Michelle Demetres  

This course provides techniques for finding relevant information from a variety of online resources through group activities and customized tutorials. It is taught in 2 sessions in the summer and 8 sessions in the fall. By the end of the course, students can find and track health-related information from the Internet, know how to broaden or narrow searches, how to critically evaluate and quality filter the results, and manage their references. 

Instructors: Laura Robbins, DSW  

The objective of this course is to enable students to gain a basic fluency with qualitative research methods and understand the importance of formative methods with data derived from key informant surveys, focus groups, or face-to-face interviews. Students learn how to ask open-ended questions and how concepts, categories, and themes are developed using grounded theory and open coding. They learn how to analyze qualitative data. At the end of the course, the students will be able to conduct qualitative interviews using a script and they should be able to use open coding methods to identify concepts, categories, and themes. 

Instructor: Jim Hollenberg, MD 

The objective of this course is to teach the basics of probabilistic thinking and the concept of heuristics. Students learn the five-step process, specifically, the structuring of the problem, the application of probabilities, the application of values, the calculation of expected utilities, and the sensitivity analysis. At the end of the course, students are able to ask and answer questions using decision analytic models. 

Instructors: Carol Mancuso, MD, and James Hollenberg, MD 

The objective of this course is to provide an approach to computer technologies, which facilitate the design, implementation, and analysis of quantitative data. The course includes methods of primary data collection, data coding, and error checking, as well as an introduction to data analysis using statistical programs. Students create computer-based data collection tools. The course is taught in a computer laboratory. At the end of the course, the students are able to develop a primary data collection instrument, set up a database, and perform simple descriptive analysis of their data. Students also are provided an introduction to ClinvestiGator, a clinical research data management system used for data collection, study coordination, data reporting, and analysis. 

Instructors: Martin Wells, PhD / Myung Hee Lee, PhD 

This course provides an introduction to methods and concepts of biostatistical analysis. Topics include statistical computing, descriptive statistics in tables and graphics, probability and distributions, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, and statistical comparison, types of error, significance and confidence levels, sample size, and nonparametric methods. The level of math in the course is limited. At the end of the course, the goal is for students to gain an understanding of basic statistical concepts and models. 

Instructor: Carla Boutin-Foster, MD, MS 

The objective of this course is to teach techniques for oral and written presentation of data. Topics include: abstract writing, graphical presentation of data, use of slides, oral presentation skills, and manuscript preparation and submission. At the end of the course, students are able to organize the results, write an abstract, prepare a poster, and prepare an oral presentation. 

Instructor: Daniel Fitzgerald, MD 

This session reviews ethical expectations for the student’s coursework and assignments during the Summer Intensive and MS Program. The objective of this course is to convey the critical issues in the ethical conduct of research. It focuses on informed consent, preserving confidentiality, data management, misconduct, human subjects, animal subjects and the implications of the use of AI.  Students are introduced to basic issues in credit and responsibility in science including criteria for authorship, conflict of interest, accountability of authors and reviewers, and data integrity.  

Instructors: Jennifer N. Bress, PhD & Guest Lecturers 

This course gives an overview of the methods used in measuring psychosocial and clinical variables, such as depression, stress, social support, anxiety, comorbidity, and disease severity. It will also review widely used measures of function and quality of life. In addition, students also learn the basic rules required for creating new measures for variables that are not adequately captured with existing measures. Students learn how to collect the data and ensure that it is high quality using standardized procedures. 

Instructors: Carol Mancuso, MD, and Mary Charlson, MD 

The objective of this seminar is to take the students through each step of formulating, designing, and implementing their own research project. The participants of this seminar discuss each other’s ideas, progress, and proposed research designs to gain a better understanding of the process and use this structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their research in a multidisciplinary atmosphere. Students are enrolled in Advanced Seminar in the fall and spring semesters year 1, as well as in the fall and spring semesters year 2. 

Instructors: Mary Charlson, MD 

This course introduces students to critical issues in health care organization, financing and policy, which constitute the core of health services research topics including access and equity issues, costs of care, health care markets, health care quality and medical outcomes, health insurance and managed care effects on patient and physician behavior, and the evaluation of health care technologies and innovations. Models for understanding institutional behavior, as well as behavior within organizations are reviewed. Students are prompted to consider the importance of the interrelationships between these issues and to apply critical thinking to the research. At the end of the course, students will be able to use the concepts to develop approaches to solving health care problems. 

Instructors: Daniel Fitzgerald, MD and Guest Lecturers 

The purpose of this course is to review and critically evaluate the philosophical underpinnings of current guidelines and regulations for the responsible conduct of research. It considers different aspects of doing research where moral decision-making is necessary. Investigators’ responsibilities as members of the scientific community and gatekeepers of public trust in science are discussed. Topics include ethical questions related to the research process, professional integrity, authorship, and respect for human subjects. Case studies are used. At the end of the course, students should be able to rigorously follow principles of responsible conduct of research.

Instructor: Carla Boutin-Foster, MD, MS 

The objective of this course is to introduce students to the principles of community based-participatory research as a methodology. It teaches students the key principles, and processes used in such studies, and how it can be used to address health disparities. At the end of the course, students will know how to determine the key community partners, build community buy-in, establish a coalition of community partners, prioritize concerns, develop research initiatives, and disseminate key findings. 

Instructors: Martin Wells, PhD, and Myung Hee Lee, PhD 

This course emphasizes the use of multiple regression analysis, analysis of variance, and related techniques to analyze data in a variety of situations. Topics include an introduction to data collection techniques; least squares estimation; multiple regression; model selection techniques; detection of influential points, and goodness-of-fit criteria. It emphasizes the appropriate design of studies before data collection and the appropriate application and interpretation of statistical techniques. Practical applications are implemented using a modern, widely available statistical package (STATA) and students gain an understanding of basic statistical concepts and models. This course will provide direct instruction on the use of Stata for statistical analysis, using a small data set provided to all the students. By the end of the course, they will be able to display data, recode data, and do univariate analyses and basic linear regression. 

Instructor: JP Pollak, PhD 

This course will explore how mobile technology (e.g. phones and lightweight sensors) and social media can be employed in research as tools for intervention and data collection. Mobile devices afford the opportunity to reach subjects nearly anytime to deliver persuasive messages or measure behavior. Social media provides a platform for utilizing the positive effects of social influence in interventions. By the end of the course, students will understand how mobile technology can be utilized in clinical research. 

Instructor: Antoinette Schoenthaler, PhD 

The objective of this course is to provide an overview of theories of behavioral and social science and their roles in health services research and clinical research. The course also covers the development and evaluation of theory-based health education approaches used in medicine. At the end of the course, students will be able to identify behavioral theories most applicable to addressing a given question. 

Instructors: Carol Mancuso, MD, and Mary Charlson, MD 

The objective of this seminar is to take the students through each step of formulating, designing, and implementing their own research project. The participants of this seminar discuss each other’s ideas, progress, and proposed research designs to gain a better understanding of the process and use this structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their research in a multidisciplinary atmosphere. Students are enrolled in Advanced Seminar in the fall and spring semesters year 1, as well as in the fall and spring semesters year 2. 

Instructor: Ernie Esquivel, MD 

The objective of this course is to convey practical skills critical to effective teaching. This course is based on the curriculum designed by Dr. Kelly Skeff and his colleagues at Stanford University and is designed to impart practical skills immediately useful to teachers. At the end of the course, students have learned effective communication skills that can be employed in research, teaching, and patient care. 

Instructors: Martin Wells, PhD and Myung Hee Lee, PhD 

The objective of this course is to convey basic concepts underlying multivariate analysis, with an emphasis on the handling of dimensional data. Considerations in dealing with survival analysis, odds ratios, and risk ratios are also covered in the course. At the end of the course, students are able to evaluate data using appropriate regression techniques and interpret the computer program output correctly. 

Instructors: Mary Charlson, MD with Guest Lecturers 

The objective of this course is to focus on the special methodological issues in quality and effectiveness research. Students learn the theoretical framework for quality of care and major new innovations in the field. Special strategies for the collection and evaluation of data relevant to safety and quality are reviewed. They are introduced to strategies in quality improvement, including approaches to reducing medical errors and improving outcomes. Systems approaches are emphasized. 

Instructor: J. Emilio Carrillo, MD 

This course will provide an overview of cultural diversity and its impact on the development and implementation of health promotion policies, programs, and health services research. Students will learn how to recognize human differences, identify their own biases, and foster the development of awareness, sensitivity, knowledge, and skills required to implement effective health promotion and disease prevention care for culturally diverse populations. The use of qualitative research in understanding cultural differences will also be explored. At the end of the course, students will be able to understand how cultural differences impact their research. 

Instructors: Jennifer Christian, PhD and Jonathan Tobin, PhD 

The objective of this course is to provide students with an understanding of the analytic methods and data resources and the main methods used in comparative effectiveness, including observational studies, risk adjustment, propensity score matching, instrumental variables, systematic reviews, and the use of clinical registries and Medicare claims data. By the end of the course, students will design a comparative effectiveness project. 

Instructors: Jonathan Tobin, PhD 

In this course, we will provide a firm grounding in the concepts, tools, and methods that can be used to effectively drive a healthcare organization’s improvement initiatives. Using techniques from modern quality improvement and implementation science, this course will advance students' capabilities to make innovative changes to their health systems. By the end of the course, students will be able to apply the tools of improvement science, to elaborate, refine, and execute an improvement project. 

Instructor: Michael Sparer, PhD, JD 

This course focuses on policy issues that affect all health care practitioners. How is the health care system organized? Who pays the health care bill? Why have efforts to enact national health insurance failed? What are the key issues involved in the nation’s long-term care policy agenda? What role does the government now play in the US health care system (and how do the different levels of government share these tasks)? How can government encourage good quality care? What are the key health care issues on the federal and state levels? At the end of the course students have an understanding of how the current health care system has evolved, and the major forces in its evolution. 

Instructors: Carol Mancuso, MD, and Mary Charlson, MD 

The objective of this seminar is to take the students through each step of formulating, designing, and implementing their own research project. The participants of this seminar discuss each other’s ideas, progress, and proposed research designs to gain a better understanding of the process and use this structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their research in a multidisciplinary atmosphere. Students are enrolled in Advanced Seminar in the fall and spring semesters year 1, as well as in the fall and spring semesters year 2. 

Instructors: Carol Mancuso, MD, and Mary Charlson, MD 

The objective of this seminar is to take the students through each step of formulating, designing, and implementing their own research project. The participants of this seminar discuss each other’s ideas, progress, and proposed research designs to gain a better understanding of the process and use this structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their research in a multidisciplinary atmosphere. Students are enrolled in Advanced Seminar in the fall and spring semesters year 1, as well as in the fall and spring semesters year 2. 

Instructors: Carol Mancuso, MD, and Mary Charlson, MD 

The objective of this seminar is to take the students through each step of formulating, designing, and implementing their own research project. The participants of this seminar discuss each other’s ideas, progress, and proposed research designs to gain a better understanding of the process and use this structured opportunity of the colloquium to discuss their research in a multidisciplinary atmosphere. Students are enrolled in Advanced Seminar in the fall and spring semesters year 1, as well as in the fall and spring semesters year 2. 

Instructors: Mary Charlson, MD, with Guest Lecturers 

This course is designed to introduce students to grant writing and peer review. In the first two weeks, sessions will cover study design, writing abstracts, specific aims, background, preliminary studies, and methods. Other sessions will include budget and justification development, how to select funding agencies, and types of applications. Students will then write an R01 grant application. The students then serve as "study section" review groups to provide primary and secondary reviews for each proposal.