Research and Your Training

One of the advantages of training at an academic medical center is your exposure to all facets of medical research and technology transfer.

The UI Carver College of Medicine consistently ranks among the nation’s top public institutions for research based on our research funding and the productivity of our faculty researchers. Presently the college supports more than 250 investigator laboratories spanning all medical disciplines.

Each of our residency and fellowship programs provides trainees with meaningful research opportunities with dedicated mentors.

Innovation

The University of Iowa supports medical researchers in their efforts to bring innovative technologies and procedures to the marketplace. UI discoveries have spawned scores of successful partnerships and commercial start-ups, led by Carver College of Medicine faculty and their research teams. Key among those innovations are contributions to the fields of diagnostic imaging, drug development and delivery, and genetically inherited diseases.

What to expect

Here’s how representative departments describe the research opportunities they offer trainees.

From Internal Medicine

The Seminar in Clinical Research provides a forum for presenting and discussing ongoing research projects and methodology in patient-oriented research. Assigned readings are drawn from contemporary literature and works in progress of participants and guest speakers from various disciplines. Topics vary from semester to semester, depending on the interests and research needs of the participants. Relevant topics include: NIH and federal funding process, obtaining pilot grants, writing and speaking skills, adjustments for comorbidity, clinical guideline implementation, qualitative methods, and issues in quality improvement, among others.

From Orthopedics and Rehabilitation

The Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation offers our residents outstanding opportunities to participate in basic science, clinical, and translational research. With the support of scientists in biomechanics, cell biology, and animal research, our department is world renowned for its contributions to orthopedic basic science, clinical research, as well as transitional research. We have an unparalleled tradition of long-term follow-up studies in a variety of orthopedic conditions. Through our collaborations with many faculty mentors, the residents are exposed to musculoskeletal research in its entirety.

From Obstetrics and Gynecology

Different from many residency programs, ours will immerse you in research that's informed by your own curiosity and passion. You’ll not only have the support of a faculty mentor, but the laboratory and computing resources of a major academic medical center. Our residents have used their research experiences as a foundation for a career of pursuing the great questions of modern medicine. They regularly present their findings at conferences and publish in scholarly journals. Our physician researchers ask the kinds of questions that help move laboratory discoveries to innovative new treatments in the clinical setting.

From Medical Genetics and Genomics