Brigham and Women's Hospital is a community of physicians, scientists, and physician-scientists. The BWH research faculty members (just like the clinical faculty) are here for you.
Research Milestones in BWH History:
1926 - Drs. William Murphy, George Whipple, and George Minot discover that liver extracts cure pernicious anemia. In 1934, they share the Nobel Prize for this work.
1929 - The first polio victim is saved using the newly developed Drinker Respirator (iron lung) at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital.
1949 - Carl Walter, MD, invents and perfects a way to collect, store, and transfuse blood.
1954 - Cortisone is first administered to patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
1962 - The first successful human organ transplant is accomplished. Joseph Murray, MD, receives the Nobel Prize in 1990 for this work.
1976 - A DC electric current is first used to restore normal rhythm to a heart.
1984- BWH researchers launch the Nurses' Health Study, enrolling 122,000 women in America's first study of women's health.
1991 - BWH is acknowledged as having received more citations in scientific papers than any other hospital in the world for the period of 1986 through 1990.
1993 - BWH is selected by the National Institutes of Health as one of 16 Vanguard Centers nationwide to help lead the Women's Health Initiative, the largest clinical trial ever undertaken in American women.
1994 - BWH researchers at the helm of the national Survival and Ventricular Enlargement (SAVE) trial report that ace inhibitors (captopril) singificantly reduce heart attack survivors' risk of recurrent heart attack and death.
1999 - BWH researchers report that the hospital's computerized drug-order entry system reduces the incidence of serious medication-related errors by 55 percent, setting a new benchmark for the country.
BWH Research Expenditures:
Average annual growth of "other" sponsors (6.6%) exceeds Industry (0.3%) and NIH (0.8%) growth.
Research Type:
In 2006, BWH investigators participated in:
• 602 NIH research grants & contracts
• 17 NIH institutional training grants
• 125 individual training grants
• 32 industry sponsored research grants
• 233 industry sponsored clinical trials
• 205 foundation awards
The total research activity could be broadly classified as follows:
In 2006, BWH research faculty numbered 837 with over 3,000 total research personnel. These outstanding investigators are highlighted by:
• 72 active members of the American Society of Clinical Investigation
• 47 active members of the Association of American Physicians
• 5 Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigators
• 17 active members of the National Academy of Sciences
• 33 active members of the institute of medicine of the National Academy of Sciences
• 13 active members of the Academy of Arts and Sciences, and
• 4 prior Nobel Laureates.
Why Research During Residency?
Curiosity, Critical Thinking, and Humanitarianism define the medical profession and are the driving forces behind research.
When surveyed, Medicine Residents most commonly report the following reasons:
1. Intellectual Curiosity (73%)
2. Career Development (60%) JGIM 2005; 20:366.
What obstacles prevent residents from participating in Research?
Residents nationwide report the following as barriers to getting involved:
1. Lack of Time (79%)
2. Lack of Research Skills (45%)
3. lack of Research Curriculum (44%)
On average, resident participation in a research project takes ~4x more time (~200 hrs/project) than writing a literature review or preparing a clinical vignette.
To address these potential obstacles, the BWH Medical Residency has taken a multi-pronged approach to facilitating and encouraging residents to participate in scholarly activity. All three of these potential barriers are directly addressed in our career development planning process to provide a flexible approach that can satisfy the needs of the PhD basic science investigator as well as the novice MD investigator who desires an initial research experience.
In the Categorical Medicine Residency:
Your engagement with discovery at BWH will evolve over your years of post-doctoral training:
Internship: Clinical focus, but we will discuss and celebrate your own discoveries.
Junior Residency: i) Ambulatory elective in Genetics and Molecular Medicine.
ii) Identification of a research preceptor in the context of your post-residency pathway.
iii) Planning elective for academic elective time in the senior year.
Senior Residency: i) Pursuit of research projects and other paths to discovery during your elective months.
ii) Resident Research Report
iii) Resident Research Forum
Other training pathways have also been established for those with more specific career development needs, namely:
1. ABIM Research Residency
2. BWH Hemi-doc pathway
3. Medicine and Genetics pathway
4. Global Health Equity pathway
For an individual resident research project, there are three phases:
1. Preparatory Phase
a. Conception and Design (days to weeks)
b. Implementation (IRB) (days to months)
2. Investigatory Phase
a. Data Collection (weeks to months)
b. Data Cleaning (days to months)
3. Synthesis Phase
a. Analysis (Statistics) (days to months)
b. Write-up (weeks to months)
c. Presentation/Publication (months to years) Amer J Med 2006; 119:277.
Sample Timeline for a Research Project during Residency
Internship
a. October - December Begin thinking of your clinical and research interests
b. January - June Begin meeting with potential research preceptors
Junior Residency
a. July - October Finalize project(s) and preceptor(s)
b. October - Begin working on project(s)
Senior Residency
a. July - Continue working on project(s)
Resident Advice to Interns Considering Research During Residency
1. Start early
2. Set aside adequate time
3. Adhere to a timeline
4. Work with a strong mentor
5. Choose a research topic that genuinely interests you
6. Keep the project simple, yet innovative
Site still in progress. Please check back frequently for updates.
If you have any questions about research within the BWH Medical Residency program, please contact Dr. Bruce Levy or Christy Schneider.
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