Interesed in Research
Developed by:
Ronald Rieder, M.D., Residency Training Director, Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Deborah Cowley, M.D., Residency Training Director, University of Washington
If you are a resident interested in research, we suggest that you:
1) Look for a mentor at your institution
a. Ask your training director for suggestions
b. Or, your Chairman (don’t be worried, Chairs usually like to be asked)
c. Ask a “Vice Chair for Research” if there is one in your Department
d. Ask other residents in your program who are doing research, and post- residency fellows doing research.
2) Find someone to read journals with
a. A journal club
b. An interested faculty member
3) Explore opportunities to do research
a. Ask your training director if there is elective time available to do research
b. If any resident has received time off of clinical duties to do research, ask
how it was arranged.
4) Find out about ways that the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the National Institute of Mental Health support young researchers.
a. Contact the APA to sign up for the Psychiatric Research Report
b. Explore the APA website about research training and funding:
c. If you are in a racial or ethnic minority category, be sure to find out about
the PMRTP (Psychiatry Minority Research Training Program) from
Ernesto Guerra.
d. Look at the NIMH research training website. You could write a F Award,
or there may be a T32 award in your institution, even in another department,
that might support you as a research fellow.
e. Attend the APA annual meeting and go to talks on subjects that interest
you. Ask the speaker after the talk if you could come to work with him/her after
residency, and if he/she knows of any funding that would support that.
f. Attend Michele Pato’s course at the APA on how to do research without
much in the way of research support.
5) Try to decide what type of research you want to pursue. Some like a type of research, such as genetics, epidemiology, clinical trials, brain imaging. Some like an illness focus, such as Autism, Schizophrenia, Alcoholism, Borderline Personality Disorder. You will find that each of these areas is likely to have a meeting of psychiatric researchers sometime during the year. Use the internet to explore such meetings, and see if your program will let you attend. Some groups even sponsor travel awards to come to the meeting.
6) Think about research-related activities such as writing case reports, literature reviews, quality improvement projects, or leading educational activities related to research such as journal clubs and Evidence Based Medicine sessions. Do them with a faculty member who will guide you.
7) Prepare a poster about your work, or of work on which you were a collaborator. See if there is a poster session at your institution. Also submit it for the APA Young Investigator Sessions at the Annual Meeting.
8) Get a “Primer” on research. One we can recommend is the “Research Manual: A Primer for Basic Research Competencies and a First Research Project” by Alan Podawiltz, Chair of Psychiatry at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine (write to ask for it). Also excellent is Scientific Integrity by Francis Macrina, with chapters on mentorship, authorship and peer review.
9) Pay attention to the research-oriented lectures/seminars in your department and medical school. There are usually online calendars or email lists to announce such events.
Research Awards & Fellowships
Compiled by Art Walaszek, University of Wisconsin
Last updated June 13, 2007
Emory University Senior Resident Symposium
At this annual meeting in West Palm Beach, Florida, 1-2 residents from each program attend seminars covering the diagnosis, biology and treatment of major psychiatric disorders. This is also a major opportunity for networking with national leaders in psychiatry.
Eligibility: PGY2 or higher, not necessarily in Research Track
Timeline: Applications are due in May for the August meeting
Society of Biological Psychiatry Travel Fellowship Award
This competitive award pays for travel to the Society of Biological Psychiatry Annual Meeting, held immediately before the annual APA meeting and in the same city.
Eligibility: PGY 3-5
Timeline: applications are due in January for the meeting in May
More information: Society for Biological Psychiatry
APA/Janssen Resident Psychiatric Research Scholars Program
The program will focus on clinical and health services research in all areas of psychiatry. Persons selected to participate in the Janssen Scholars Program will have travel support to attend the APA annual meeting for two years and also up to $2,500 to conduct a small research project under the guidance of a mentor.
Eligibility: PGY1-3
Timeline: applications are due in January for the meeting in May
More information: APA/Janssen website
Pittsburgh/Stanford Research Career Development Institute
The aims of the Institute are to offer a broad-based group of young investigators an increased general knowledge of what a research career involves in academic psychiatry; to provide an update on new methods of psychiatric research; to discuss strategies for shortening the time interval between the end of the research training period and receipt of the first extramural grant support; and to foster relationships with established investigators who could work over the long term as mentors or consultants and with other developing investigators in order to facilitate peer support and collaborative research.
Eligibility: PGY4+
Timeline: applications are due in January for the April meeting
More information: Career Development Institute for Psychiatry
NIMH Outstanding Resident Award
This award is intended to honor PGY2 psychiatric residents with outstanding academic potential. One nomination per program. Factors to be considered include CV and brief description by nominee of interest in a career in academic psychiatry and/or clinical research. All award recipients will give a 10-15 minute
talk about their research.
Eligibility: PGY2
Timeline: applications are due in May for the October award program
More information: NIMH award website
NIH Loan Repayment Program
More information: National Institutes of Health
ACNP/Sanofi-Aventis Pharmaceuticals Fellowship Awards for Minorities
Sanofi-Aventis has provided an educational grant to the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ACNP) to encourage the development of young scientists from minority populations. Fellows attend the presitigious annual ACNP meeting in December, as well as invitations to the following annual meetings. Eligibility: any PGY1; must be U.S. or permanent resident
Timeline: applications are due in April with June notification for December meeting
More information: ACNP fellowships & awards
APIRE Program for Minority Research Training in Psychiatry
The APA's Program for Minority Research Training in Psychiatry is designed to increase the number of minorities in research. Each year, 10 underrepresented minorities will be selected as "mini-fellows" who will attend the annual APA meeting. Funding is via NIMH.
Eligibility: underrepresented minority; must be U. S. Citizen or permanent resident
Timeline: applications are due in February for May meeting
More information: APIRE PMRTP
Resident Travel Award for Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference
The Pittsburgh Schizophrenia Conference is the nation's longest running scientific meeting devoted to exploring the latest research findings related to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Up to 3 awardees receive free travel and lodging as well as a $150 cash award.
Eligibility: any psychiatry resident interested in schizophrenia
Timeline: September deadline for November meeting
More information: e-mail Michael Travis, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Psychiatry Residency Training Director at University of Pittsburgh