# Undergraduate Clinical Scholars Program: Pathway to Clinical Research Careers

> **NIH NIH R25** · UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA · 2021 · $106,963

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The gold standard for evaluation of medical treatments and procedures in humans is clinical trials. However,
clinical trials are unable to answer all important clinical questions. Therefore, another component has been
recognized as equally important: the translation from bedside to real-world practice utilizing disciplines such as
epidemiology, statistics, ethics, public policy, management and economics research. These types of studies
are ideal for evaluating the reach, efficacy, effectiveness, adoption, implementation and maintenance of more
traditional bench-to-bedside interventions. Funding organizations have increasingly recognized the importance
of this broader sense of translational research. However, training in these fields requires the same rigor as
traditional “wet-bench” research; and undergraduate exposure and training in public health and epidemiology
are relatively uncommon, leading to a significant underrepresentation of these fields in graduate training,
particularly in areas of emphasis for the NIDDK. This shortage of qualified clinical investigators for rigorous
clinical research is particularly reflected in a paucity of women and underrepresented minorities.
 To address these needs, we propose to establish the new Undergraduate Clinical Scholars Program
(UCSP), an innovative undergraduate research opportunity (URO) at the University of Pennsylvania. The
cornerstone of the UCSP is an intensive clinical-research experience that entails close interaction with and
mentorship by a training program faculty member; and a structured curriculum in basic epidemiology
complimented with a statistical laboratory experience and topics in ethics, scientific writing and pathways to
medical school admissions (MD and combined degree programs). The UCSP program also includes a
focused student research symposium in which students will have the opportunity to interact with keynote
speakers who are international leaders in clinical research. Performance of the UCSP and its trainees will be
tracked with longitudinal data, and guided by both an established clinical-research based Internal Advisory
Board and a multi-disciplinary experienced External Advisory Board. The program also will work closely with
the Office for Inclusion and Diversity at the University of Pennsylvania. The overarching interrelated specific
aims of the UCSP are two-fold: Aim 1. To foster a strong interest among talented undergraduates in
human clinical research with a focus on digestive, pancreatic, liver, kidney and diabetes research; and
Aim 2. To establish durable mentoring relationships between talented undergraduates interested in
pursuing clinical research and supportive faculty mentors. In aggregate, this innovative URO provides
the superb faculty, exceptional scientific resources and exciting intellectual environment for trainees to be
exposed to and expand their knowledge and interest in clinical and health services research. The key outcome
of the UCSP...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10149992
- **Project number:** 5R25DK108711-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
- **Principal Investigator:** James D Lewis
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $106,963
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-08-01 → 2022-09-29

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10149992

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10149992, Undergraduate Clinical Scholars Program: Pathway to Clinical Research Careers (5R25DK108711-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10149992. Licensed CC0.

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