The Program

The goal of the DFCM's Division of Research Fellowship program is to provide medical and graduate students the opportunity to participate in a research project and expose them to the research environment of an academic medical center and the activities of academic physicians and other faculty. Suitable projects will allow you to learn and participate in medical research; this includes involvement in formulating a hypothesis, experimental design, execution of the work, data analysis and presentation of results. 

 

 

Investigative areas broadly reflective of the interests of the division include:

  • Translational research (e.g., science in substance use, diabetes, or other disease states that relate or translate basic science discoveries into practice)
  • Patient-centered outcomes research
  • Community-engaged research
  • Public health
  • Practice-based primary care
  • Quality Improvement
  • Other studies of specific behaviors or diseases of interest to primary care

Former Research Fellow Projects

2016: Erica Schuster, Mentor: Lars Peterson

2017: Jessica Adkins, Mentor: Keisa Fallen-Bennett

2018: Jessica Creager, Mentor: Lars Peterson

2019: Rachel Cox, Mentors: Lars Peterson and Karen Roper

2021: Bennett Collis, Mentor: Karen Roper

2022: Bradley Firchow, Mentor: Richard Ingram

APPLICATION QUALIFICATIONS

Student Applicant Eligibility

  • You are a UK student (medical or graduate) who is in good academic standing. 
  • It is expected that you will or have already completed the required CITI training in the projection of human subjects required by the UK College of Medicine prior to starting your research, unless your research is exempted. 
  • It is required that you choose a mentor.  Your mentor can be any faculty member at UK, so long as they agree to guide you through a project that falls within the broad interest areas of family and community medicine research. 

Application Checklist

•Resume including past research experiences 

• One-page essay describing: 

        • your interest in community/primary care-based research 

        • what qualities/experiences would make you a good candidate 

        • what you hope to gain/accomplish from the summer research fellowship

• Completed application form 

• Letter of support from mentor 

 Qualified applicants will be judged on suitability of their interests to those of the program and the project needs.

All materials are due by 5 pm on Friday, March 17, 2023. Late or partial applications will not be considered.

Fellowship Expectations

  • Fellows will present the results of their research to the department at a suitable time after the research project is completed.
  • Fellows and mentors will work with the program director, Dr. Karen Roper, to finalize a date for this within a year of the fellow’s acceptance for the program.
  • Also, fellows are required to submit their project for participation in the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Science’s Spring research showcase, or another suitable research conference. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the schedule for this fellowship opportunity?

  • The scheduling is arranged between the fellow and the mentor.
  • All commitments of the fellowship must be met, but the timeframe is purposely flexible. The research is expected to culminate in a oral presentation to the DFCM faculty, and in an external presentation (local or national; see fellowship program expectations). 

Will I get paid and how much?

Fellows will receive $1,800 that is paid as a non-federal work-study opportunity and so contingent on the submission of biweekly time sheets. 

Applications

To apply to our Research Fellowship, please download and complete the application to send as a pdf.  Along with the form, please provide all other materials listed in the Applications checklist drop down menu. All materials can be emailed to Dr. Karen Roper by clicking the "SEND APPLICATION" button below. 
Please note: Chrome may not open and display the PDF correctly, but after the PDF is downloaded and opened in Adobe it will display correctly.

Download the Research Fellowship Application

Send Application

Questions?

Still have questions?  Please email Dr. Karen Roper. 

Email