Scholarly Impact & Research Program

Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s scholarly impact and research program provides curricular and co-curricular support for M.D. students to conduct scholarship or research in a broad range of disciplines including the clinical or basic science translational research; community engagement and population health; global health; health technology innovation and biodesign; medical education; and quality improvement tracks. All M.D. students complete the four-year longitudinal impact course, during which they receive curricular support and work with a faculty mentor to develop critical thinking, professional identity, and engage in discovery and service related to student and mentor scholarly interests.

As a requirement for graduation, every Einstein student completes a capstone project in their track with guidance from a faculty mentor that results in a scholarly product. Students can write a research paper, a basic science review, a formal systematic review, a case report, develop an app or a community-based curriculum, or write a paper based on a bioethical issue in medicine or research. Scholarly products can be based on global health or local community engagement experiences, bench work, or library research that results in a systematic review of existing medical literature. Students work with their mentor during the first year of medical school to develop a feasible project and plan for a final scholarly product. The final scholarly product must be based on research or scholarship, completed during medical school and presented in a professional format, such as a manuscript suitable for a peer-reviewed journal.

It is important to identify a faculty mentor who is knowledgeable about your area of interest or track as early as possible. Having conversations with and shadowing relevant faculty can help guide you toward greater clarity about your project focus and the type of mentor that works for you. We understand and expect the process of discovering your areas of interest to evolve over time and that you may benefit from more than one mentor. For example, one mentor may provide research expertise while another may offer clinical expertise.

At the end of the scholarly impact and research program, students are equipped with practical research, project implementation, and interprofessional skills. Einstein also provides co-curricular support and offers fellowship stipends and conference funding for M.D. students who wish to enhance their educational experiences beyond the core M.D. curriculum.

As an M.D. student at Einstein, you can access detailed information about scholarly resources available to you on Canvas, a learning management system that Einstein students, faculty, and administrators use to communicate with each other (an AD username and password may be required to access certain areas of the site).