# Intensive Summer Research Training in Emergency Medicine (ISTEM) program

> **NIH NIH T35** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2024 · $31,899

## Abstract

Abstract
The Intensive Summer Research Training in Emergency Medicine (ISTEM) program had been instrumental in
expanding the number of medical students exposed to clinical research at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (UNC-CH). The goal of the program is to engage rising second-year UNC-CH medical students in
research on topics related to emergency medicine and heart, lung, and blood with the intent of recruiting
physicians into a lifelong research career. This application is for a renewal to continue the ISTEM program that
was funded in 2017. We filled 28 of our 30 positions (~6 per year) and all trainees completed the program. Of
the 28 trainees, 3 were underrepresented minority medical students and 8 were female. Twenty-one of the
trainees presented posters at the UNC-CH John B. Graham Student Research Day, 4 presented posters at
American Heart Association national meetings, and 6 have published in peer reviewed journals. These
numbers speak to the success of the ISTEM program in its first 5 years. We are requesting from the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to continue ISTEM with 8 short-term trainee slots per year.
The aims of the program are the following: Aim 1. To match selected ISTEM trainees to outstanding, NIH-
funded research mentors who will provide a productive and rigorous environment for conducting a summer
research project in an area of importance to NHLBI; Aim 2. To provide ISTEM trainees with a formative
educational experience in the goals, methods, and challenges of research in emergency medicine settings,
including topics on research ethics and reproducibility; and Aim 3. To track the outcomes of ISTEM trainees to
determine the success of the program and to improve and expand this training opportunity. The training
program will extend over 8-12 weeks during the summer. Trainees will be mentored by well-published and
funded physicians and scientists with expertise in emergent conditions, cardiovascular and pulmonary health,
blood and bleeding disorders, health services, and epidemiology. The ISTEM program administrative team will
consist of two program co-directors, an administrator, and an advisory committee. Key activities in the training
sequence include the identification of top medical students through a competitive application and review
process, weekly didactic seminars in research and manuscript writing, completion of a research project with a
mentor, abstract development and presentation, and program evaluation. New to this renewal application, we
will evaluate ISTEM’s ability to increase research competencies using the Research Self-Efficacy Scale to
assess the trainees’ confidence in research tasks before and after the program. Trainee outcomes consist of
increased understanding and practice of research design and implementation, increased experience with
mentor-mentee relationships, completed presentations and publications, and increased trainee self-awareness
related to their future r...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10851682
- **Project number:** 5T35HL134624-07
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jane Brice
- **Activity code:** T35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $31,899
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-01 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10851682

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10851682, Intensive Summer Research Training in Emergency Medicine (ISTEM) program (5T35HL134624-07). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10851682. Licensed CC0.

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