MSRO launches research search engine for students
The Medical Student Research Office (MSRO) has launched the Research Opportunity Search Engine, a new database to help students at McGovern Medical School identify research opportunities year-round.
A major need for students applying to specialty and subspecialty residencies is research experience. McGovern Medical School’s previous research database was a static platform, which required showed previous summer mentors and did not list current projects. Additionally, the platform required the Summer Research Program to commit an abundance of time to regularly update the listings.
“Our students want to know what is currently available as an opportunity now or for the summer,” said Mary Horton, MPH, MA, PhD, director of the Medical Student Research Office and assistant professor in the Office of Educational Programs. “The new search engine has more information related to the timing of the project, field of study, and nature of the project.”
The MSRO worked with the University of Pittsburgh, which shared an example of a similar database used for their students. After approval from the IT developers in the Office of Educational Programs, the office put together the new and improved Research Opportunity Search Engine.
“We showed it to faculty and students, and they loved the information provided in it,” Horton said. “It was what they wanted – current and searchable on a variety of content fields.”
The new database is searchable for students by research project title, faculty and their department, types of students needed, the length of the project, where the work is located, if it includes a stipend, if there is remote work involved, if there are opportunities to shadow, the type of research, and the last time the research page has been updated. Students also are able to download an Excel spreadsheet of the available listings, which will contain faculty contact information and more details about each research opportunity.
With the new platform, UTHealth Houston faculty are able to log in to the database and submit their research projects, allowing the database to be populated from outside sources instead of relying solely on the Summer Research Program staff. Additionally, faculty outside of UTHealth Houston can submit research opportunities by email the Summer Research Program staff with all information.
“We know faculty involved in research want students, and students want to work with research faculty,” Horton said. “We are hopeful as the data in the search engine grows, that we will be meeting research needs of our students and faculty alike.”