Opportunities for Students

Medical students

Pediatrics faculty serve as mentors to medical students enrolled in Brody School of Medicine’s distinction tracks and students participating in other structured research experiences, such as the Summer Scholars Research Program and research electives in the M3/M4 years. Additional opportunities for collaboration are available during the foundational curriculum and throughout the clinical years. Recent medical student-led projects have appeared in Clinical Pediatrics, Hospital Pediatrics, Journal of Perinatology, and American Journal of Medical Quality, among other journals.

Residents and Fellows

We encourage resident and fellow participating on investigator-initiated studies throughout the department. The Pediatric Research Team also supports residents and fellows interested in developing their own projects during their tenure at ECU. Specific research requirements can be found on the program websites:

Residencies
- Pediatrics
- Internal Medicine/Pediatrics
Fellowships
- Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine

Undergraduate Students

We are excited to offer an undergraduate and graduate internship in Pediatric Clinical Research. Our internship is a competitive, semester-based internship. We train 2-3 students per semester, typically recruiting new cohorts in the fall and spring.

The goal of our program:

Expose students to the inner workings of clinical research administration. We accomplish this by having students shadow clinical research coordinators, train on pharmaceutical clinical trials, and assist with data entry / regulatory documentation.
Train the next generation of healthcare providers in research methods and best practice. During the course of the semester, students will attend lectures, watch training videos, and work on projects that require them to think abstractly, problem solve, and explore various sub-specialties of pediatrics. Students will have the opportunity to develop skills like consenting patients and reviewing medical charts.
Allow students to meet with physicians in our department and network with Brody School of Medicine leadership. We accomplish this through guest speakers, skills-based workshops (such as resume writing and personal statements), and assigning interns to ongoing academic projects.
Support our office with administrative tasks such as organizing supplies, gathering signatures from providers, and helping to prepare documents. A go-getter mentality is a must for the internship.

Ultimately, we like to help students achieve their goals of pursuing a career in medicine or health sciences. A majority of participants in our program have gone on to medical school, graduate school, or started as clinical research coordinators after graduation.

If you have any questions about this application, contact Cierra Buckman, Director of Research Administration for the Department of Pediatrics, via email at pure@ecu.edu.

Graduate students

Graduate students in public health, sociology, psychology, and other programs collaborate with Pediatrics faculty on a range of clinical and health services research projects. Graduate student-led projects have been published in journals including the Journal of Rural Health, Journal of School Health, and Population Health Management, among others.