News
August 12, 2019

Students gain real-world experience in research at Regenstrief Institute

Summer Student Group Shot

More than 30 students spent the summer at Regenstrief Institute working closely with Regenstrief faculty on research projects. Undergraduate and medical students enrolled in various summer scholarship programs, allowing them a unique opportunity to explore the fields of aging, informatics and health services research.

Founded in 1969, Regenstrief Institute, located in Indianapolis, is a world-renowned medical research organization known for innovations in pain treatment, healthcare delivery, artificial intelligence, dementia and more.

Depending on the project, students learned many different skills, including how to design protocols, recruit participants for studies, collect and manage data, perform qualitative data analysis, and write scientific abstracts.

Just like the faculty at the institute, students were given the chance to showcase their work to institute employees and peers during “Work in Progress” sessions.

IMPRS students

Ten of the summer scholars were part of the Indiana University Medical Student Program for Research and Scholarship (IMPRS). The program connects students with research opportunities between the first and second years of medical school.

The IMPRS students were involved in projects such as validating a postoperative delirium prediction model, reviewing the success of animal-assisted interventions to treat pain, and comparing three methods for parameterizing health record linkage algorithms.  Students presented a poster about their work in the 2019 IMPRS Poster Symposium, competing against dozens of other IMPRS students whose summer internships were at other IU facilities.

IMPRS Summer Scholars Group photo

Regenstrief-hosted IMPRS scholar Griffin Selch was selected as one of the top 20 posters and went on to a competitive round of oral presentations, where he received the Hazel and Tommy Thompson Cardiac Research Scholarship award. Regenstrief research scientist Linda Williams, M.D., mentored Selch as he analyzed data from the U.S Department of Veterans Affairs telestroke program. The title of his project was “Telepresence and Provider Communication Predict Veteran Satisfaction with Telestroke.”

In addition, Regenstrief IMPRS scholars Christopher Miao and Jacob Graham won second and third place in the Health Research Outcomes category of the poster session. Jessica Chiang was awarded third place in the Community Health Partnership category.

Nurturing future researchers

The Regenstrief Institute has upheld a long tradition of academic research mentorship. Over the years, graduate trainees have completed intensive pre- and post-doctoral fellowships and gone on to become leaders in healthcare systems and health-related research fields. Regenstrief mentors have come to recognize the value of reaching students even earlier in their educational trajectory and the summer scholarship program has evolved to meet that goal.

“Regenstrief is such a vibrant research environment. We are thrilled to be able to offer a summer research opportunity to so many students,” said Lori Losee, M.A., assistant director of Regenstrief’s William M. Tierney Center for Health Services Research. Losee coordinated the summer research scholars. “Sparking and nurturing an interest in research is a crucial first step in developing future clinicians and research scientists who are prepared and equipped to tackle the complex issues encountered in delivering safe, effective health care. We hope this experience will heighten students’ awareness of the important contributions of informatics, aging and health services research, and that one day they may join us in our shared mission to improve health and healthcare for everyone and end disease.”

Research wasn’t the only activity students participated in. Losee led the organization of various events for students to network with each other and Regenstrief employees. They also were encouraged to dive into the Institute’s learning culture by attending Regenstrief-hosted presentations by renowned scientists and training by research administration experts.

“Spending time in a mission-driven organization and engaging with researchers who can provide insight and advice are prominent reasons students pick Regenstrief,” said Losee. “We worked to give them a comprehensive and enjoyable experience and a solid foundation for considering research as a meaningful and viable career path.”

In addition to IU School of Medicine, students were from IUPUI, IU Bloomington, DePauw University, Marian University, Earlham College, Purdue University, Belmont University, Washington University in St. Louis, Butler University, University of Iowa and University of Dayton.

Sophie Bair-University of Dayton

Sarah Banks- IUPUI

Ashok Biju- IU School of Medicine

Ashwin Biju- IU Bloomington

Kayla Brown- IU School of Medicine

Jessica Chiang- IU School of Medicine

Brittany Kate Chong- Earlham College

Hannah Davis- DePauw University

Luke Elsener- Marian University

Michael Grady- Earlham College

Jake Graham- IU School of Medicine

Lucas Huffman- Marian University

Nick Imperiale- IU Bloomington

Kayla Jones- Purdue University

Alexandria “Lex” Juarez- IU Bloomington

Jennifer King- Belmont University

Zeba Kokan- Purdue University

Justin Kryshak- IU School of Medicine

Albert Liu- IU School of Medicine

Hallie Martin- IUPUI

Andrew McNutt- Purdue University

Chris Miao- IU School of Medicine

Isabel Miller- IU Bloomington

Sang Yoon Na- IU School of Medicine

Julia Otteson- BioCrossroads Xtern program

Lobsang Palmo- Earlham College

Layna Paraboschi- Washington University St. Louis

Griffin Selch- IU School of Medicine

Mary Stazinski- Butler University

Karly Van Slyke- IUPUI

Claire Williams- University of Iowa

Jenna Wright- Marian University

Maddie Wright- Butler University

Sen Xiong- IU School of Medicine

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