NSU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine Research Fellowship Broadens Students’ Horizons

When research fellows Mete Akin and Katherine Quinones became the first students accepted into the Research Fellowship Program at Nova Southeastern University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (NSU-COM) last year, they approached the opportunity with a great deal of enthusiasm—and a slight sense of trepidation.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect going in,” said Akin, who had amassed four years of research experience prior to and after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “I thought it might be a cold, calculated research group, but it’s been just the opposite.”

NSU-COM research fellowship pioneers (l-r) Mete Akin, Katherine Quinones, and Dr. M. Isabel Fernandez.

Patterned after its successful and highly competitive fellowship in osteopathic principles and practice (OPP), the research fellowship provides participants with a full year of structured training and experience in conceptualizing, conducting, and disseminating research for selected NSU-COM medical students between their second and third years.

In addition to their fellowship year, program participants receive tuition remission for their third and fourth years at the college. “This exciting new fellowship greatly advances research efforts at NSU-COM,” said M. Isabel Fernandez, Ph.D., who serves as director of the NSU-COM Behavioral Health Promotion Program and the Research Fellowship Program. “In today’s competitive environment, it enhances students’ career opportunities by providing them with additional options.”

Although the fellowship program is flexible and tailored to the specific needs and skills of individual students, all fellows participate in three core activities:

• completing academic coursework
• serving as a research associate on an existing research study
• communicating scientific knowledge through publications in peer-reviewed journals and presentations at scientific meetings

The fellows also are afforded an opportunity to participate in the writing and submission of at least one scholarly manuscript to a peer-reviewed journal and at least one abstract submission for presentation at a scientific meeting.

“During the first few months, Dr. Fernandez took us through every aspect of the research process, such as grant preparation and preparing Institutional Review Board forms,” explained Akin. “She also gave us an opportunity to work with data she had already collected on previous projects as well as the freedom to generate papers from it. I then learned how to form my own research questions, do data analysis, write up a paper, and present a poster for a particular topic.”

During the second half of their fellowship year, Akin and Quinones were allowed to establish and implement their own research projects, which has proven to be an immeasurably valuable—and enjoyable—experience. “I’m currently working on an OPP research-related project on the effect of high heels on women’s posture and weight distribution,” said Quinones, who received her undergraduate degree from Florida International University in Miami. “I’m hoping to get 50 to 75 participants involved in the study, so that’s what I’m putting all my energy toward.”

While Quinones is busy with her project, Akin has been equally as industrious on his, which involves polling NSU-COM medical students in each of the four years to assess their health-related behaviors by having them fill out surveys that will be analyzed for statistical data and other research outcomes.

“We’ve both learned a lot, especially about everything you have to do before you actually do the research. It’s been beneficial because you get involved in the whole process,” Quinones explained. “What I really enjoyed, however, was the freedom of thought I was allowed to have. I found that to be quite refreshing since I was so accustomed to going to class and being told what we had to learn. It was really nice to have to come up with something on my own.”