Medicine

Summer program trains the next generation of clinical and translational research

HERSHEY, Pa. — An interdisciplinary group of students — representing two campuses, three colleges, four graduate programs and medical education — began the Short-term Intensive Translational Experience (SITE) program on June 20. SITE is a 10-week experiential program to develop skills as clinical and translational researchers. It provides first- or second-year medical and graduate students with training in both foundational (research design, data analysis) and professional (communications, ethics, teamwork) skills needed to become well-rounded clinical and translational researchers.

During the program, students attend 10 days of classes, two sessions per day. Team leaders, assisted by subject matter experts, pose an unanswered health or biomedical sciences question. The students, working in small groups, develop methods to approach the issue or question.

Throughout the course, students are exposed to central topics such as bioethics, mental health research, health economics, big data and health networks. Communicating across disciplines, recognizing best practices for collaboration with interdisciplinary teams, distinguishing the difference between translational research phases and understanding the role the scientific process plays in translational science are also presented.

Students selected to participate in the SITE Program include Jonathan Casey, doctoral student in biomedical engineering; Toan Do, medical student; N. Todd Froelich, medical student; Scott Graupensperger, doctoral student in kinesiology; Emily Johnston, doctoral student in nutritional sciences; Bethany Latten, medical student; Beth Worley, doctoral student in biomedical sciences; and Zachary Wynne, medical student.

The SITE Program is funded through Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute, supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health.

For more information, visit the SITE program website.  

Last Updated June 23, 2017

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