Medical Student Research
at the University of Kentucky
Medical Student Research
Research is a priority of the University of Kentucky. Many of our medical students participate in some form of research, and the college provides a range of supports to help our students access and navigate research experiences. First, know that research during medical school entails a wide spectrum of scholarly involvement. Our students most frequently work with faculty mentors on:
- Bench science research
- Clinical and translational research
- Population health, behavioral health, and health equity research
- Medical education and evaluation projects
Many students also present clinical case reports at local, regional, or national conferences, and a growing number are contributing to PSQI (patient safety and/or quality improvement) initiatives.
Research involvement for our medical students is available at every skill level and level of interest. Our primary research-focused opportunities include:
For Applying Medical Students
- Consider the MD/PhD program
- The Office of Undergraduate Research (if you are a UK undergraduate student with time left to engage in undergraduate scholarship before graduation)
For Accepted Incoming Students
Participate in the free Introduction to Clinical Research summer or fall workshop (1 week in July prior to matriculation, or in the fall term as an elective)
For M1 Students
Research opportunities are announced regularly for all students, and several formal research programs like the funded Professional Student Mentored Fellowship Award and the Research Concentration open for applications during winter of the M1 year.
All current medical students have access to support from Acting Director of Medical Student Research Lillian Sims, PhD. Dr. Sims oversees the “Research Resources” Canvas page where learning opportunities and helpful information are regularly shared. These include:
- Overviews of each research area where our medical students frequently contribute
- Contact information for student research connections in each clinical department
- Targets for research involvement by specialty based on national data
- Skill-building videos and links (including recordings of our monthly Research Roadmap learning series)
- Links to the research interest survey for help finding opportunities and the research experiences survey to share feedback
- Templates for IRB protocols and case reports
- Examples of recent UK College of Medicine medical student research
Dr. Sims is also available to meet with current medical students for help finding mentors, identifying interests, and/or troubleshooting projects.
Reach out anytime: lillian.sims@uky.edu.
Additional Resources
Students also often find the following UK-wide resources helpful for identifying potential research mentors or resources at the college:
- The Scholars@uky database can be searched by research keyword to identify potential mentors
- The Center for Clinical and Translational Science
Happy researching!