Research

We participate in American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) research and have recently strengthened our program with the creation of the Harrington Physician-Scientist Pathway. We also support residents who want to do an extra year of training, with two of the four residency years devoted to research. This option is not part of the formal pathway, but it is supported by the Department of Medicine and fits within the ABIM rules. There are a large number of well-funded, research-intensive faculty in the Department of Medicine. The Department of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University/UH Cleveland Medical Center ranks 11th out of 126 in NIH funding among academic departments of medicine. Our IM residency leadership includes Dr. Aaron Proweller, who is a mentor for residents wanting to do basic research, and Dr. Emad Mansoor, who oversees residents’ involvement in clinical research.

Scholarly Requirement

All senior residents are required to give a scholarly seminar as part of the Noon Conference series. The majority of our residents do research, many presenting at national meetings and our annual Department of Medicine Research Day. Resident research is not a requirement, but the overwhelming majority of our residents are involved in research projects. All PGY3 residents are required to do a quality improvement project.

Research Electives

Residents can use some or all of their elective time throughout their training to pursue research projects. As stated above, we also participate in the ABIM research pathway. We have a monthly evening seminar series called the Agre Society (named for a graduate of our program who received the Nobel Prize for discovering the aquaporin channel) on research careers and mentorship.

Research Mentorship

There are a large number of faculty supported by NIH grants and other external funding who provide mentorship. Interns meet with the Chair of the Department early in the intern year to discuss career counseling, and meet with one of the Program Directors twice a year. We hold interactive sessions with the subspecialty divisions so residents can gain awareness of the faculty's research interests. Interactions during these meetings, as well as less formal interactions with Chief Residents and peers provide guidance for selecting research mentors.

The Agre Society

The Agre Society at Case Western Reserve University is named for Peter Agre, MD, a medicine resident in the University Hospitals of Cleveland/VA program in the mid-1970s who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2003 for the discovery of aquaporins. The society serves to advance understanding of biomedical research by clinical residents, fellows and medical students.

The main focus of the Agre Society is a series of informal monthly dinner meetings featuring a presentation by a prominent Department of Medicine faculty member, who is a leader in his or her research field, with an interest in education of future biomedical researchers.

The design of the Agre Society promotes interactions between medical students, residents and fellows with interests in biomedical research, allowing these groups to enrich each other with their different experiences and viewpoints. The program helps clinical residents and fellows to learn about research and identify potential mentors within the wider Case research community. It also helps trainees to understand the clinical context of their research and enables them to form contacts with people at more advanced stages of training.

To Attend the Agre Society

The society meets at Carpenter Room (Lakeside, 3rd Floor) 12:00 noon - 1:00 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.