All residents are expected during their residency to participate in and complete a research project. During their 2nd, 3rd and 4th years, residents are provided unstructured research time to aid in completion of this requirement. During this time, the resident is expected to identify an area of research of personal interest and develop, carry out and complete a research project under the guidance of a mentor.

Resident Research Day

The research experience culminates in a informal presentation at Senior Research Day, typically held in October of each year. This symposium, attended by faculty and residents, provides the resident the opportunity to present and discuss their research project in a collegial environment. The department awards a prize to the best research project of the year. About 80% of residents take advantage of departmental support to present their research projects at national meetings and/or submit to journals for publication.

Research Seminar Series

Twice monthly the residents are exposed to ongoing research projects in the department. Many of the clinical and basic science researchers give overviews of their research topics and outcomes. This allows the residents to gain more exposure to current and future departmental research that they otherwise might be unaware of.

Journal Club

All residents participate in a monthly journal club to discuss relevant radiology journal articles. Working with a representative staff member from each section in the department, two journal articles are presented per meeting, one by a 3rd-year resident (with an article selected by the faculty) and one by a 4th-year DR resident (article is selected by the resident). For IR-Integrated residents, 4th- and 5th-year residents will select and present articles for the VIR Journal club, held every other month.

The goal of Journal Club is not necessarily to learn content of the articles but to improve the residents' ability to critically evaluate the literature.

Research Funding

The Department of Radiology maintains a Resident Research Fund that residents can apply for. The funds are disbursed by the Radiology Resident Research Committee. Additionally, there are some other potential sources of funding available through the Carver College of Medicine and the Graduate Medical Education office.