The M-STREAM program will recruit 20 medical students annually, while expanding it from one summer of research training to include continued research support during all four years of medical school. The students will be paired with mentors (MDs and/or PhDs) either at their own institution or at another appropriate one. Initially, each trainee will conduct a research project for 10 weeks of summer between the 1st and 2nd years of medical school. The trainees will then attend a 3-day Workshop at UCSD, where they will present their summer research projects. They will also prepare manuscripts with the help of their mentors. During the 2nd year of medical school, these students will participate in an “NIMH-Day”, where they will meet with NIMH program officers and intramural scientists. During the 3rd year, the trainees will present their work at a relevant professional conference. Finally, in the 4th year, they will work on a research project in geriatric neuropsychiatry during their elective rotation. We will seek to ensure continued mentoring by the same faculty members throughout the four years. Financial support will be provided to the trainees for all these activities.

Mentor and student pair requirements

1. Design student projects carefully and realistically, with a small project that has a story line (a beginning, a middle, and an end) generally considered the best type. Even if the project is not completely successful, students appreciate the opportunity to do experiments whose significance is clear to them. Students get frustrated and lose focus if they sense that they may never finish the work. Projects should be comprehensible to the trainees, who do not need to understand every detail, but do need to know what drives the work and how it relates to what they do in the lab each day. An abstract of the proposed research must be submitted to the M-STREAM program for review by the Steering Committee by the end of the second week of the placement.
2. Clearly define expectations. The defined research plan should clearly state what is expected from the student including the work hours, any required participation in lab activities (e.g., journal clubs, seminars), and a clear explanation of the intended final product(s) – e.g., abstract, paper, and any expected reading materials or writing assignments.
3. Students must complete any required local training (e.g., ethics, HIPPA, or animal use).
4. Students and mentors need to complete all required evaluations.
5. All students must attend the 3-day M-STREAM Workshop at UCSD during early August.

The M-STREAM workshop

A major component of the research training will include the attendance of all trainees at a three-day workshop held in early-August on the UCSD campus, beginning on Thursday afternoon and ending mid-day on Sunday. Trainees’ travel and lodging expenses will be covered by the grant. Trainees will attend talks by senior leaders and researchers in the fields of mental health and aging, and also present the results of their own research. The workshop will also provide the trainees an opportunity to network with fellow students and leaders in the field.

NIMH day

During the spring of second year medical school, the M-STREAM students (along with the M-STREAM leadership) will visit the NIMH for a day. Students will present posters based on their research projects, and also meet with NIMH program staff as well as NIMH intramural scientists. Brief talks will be given by senior NIMH program officers and investigators. There will be informal opportunities for one-on-one and small group meetings for trainees with NIMH leaders. (All the travel expenses of the students will be covered by the grant.)

Professional Conference

During third year medical school, the M-STREAM students will be advised to attend an appropriate professional conference in consultation with their respective mentors. Examples of such meetings include annual conferences of the:

• American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry
• Society of Biological Psychiatry
• American College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• American Psychiatric Association
• Society for Neuroscience.

Working with the mentor, the student would submit an abstract, and present a poster at the conference. The grant will cover at least a part of the travel and lodging expenses, and program administration will work with the student’s mentor to obtain the remaining amount from the medical school or other mentor resources. Funding support will only be provided to students 1) in good standing (confirmed in consultation by program administration with the student’s mentors), and 2) if they have an accepted poster or paper.

Research Elective

Finally, during the fourth and final year of medical school, the M-STREAM trainees will be encouraged to pursue a research elective (of at least a month in length) working with their mentor/s on a project related to geriatric mental health. A small stipend and some support for research supplies will be provided. Again, an abstract submission and manuscript preparation would be strongly encouraged.

Program Flexibility

Although a specific program flow has been described above, it should be noted that this is only a proposed sequential order of the program components. In order to tailor the M-STREAM program to fit the needs of the individual students and ensure their continued participation and enthusiasm, student participants and their mentors may choose to request changes to this order. For example, as a result of time constraints/conflicts or individual interests, students may seek to attend another summer workshop at UCSD instead of a professional conference, or take a year off to conduct research and seek some support instead of focusing on a fourth-year elective, or switch the order of attendance at events (e.g., NIMH Day in year 3). All such changes must be brought to the attention of the M-STREAM steering committee for approval. In addition to student requests, the M-STREAM program administration may choose to make changes that enhance the training experience of student participants. In particular, individual student alumni may be invited to attend the summer workshop at UCSD for a second year. The ability for a participating student to receive continued funding support for the various M-STREAM program activities will be dependent on his or her meeting the necessary program requirements. In cases in which students fail to remain engaged (per mentor reports), funding and continued program participation may be terminated

Core Competencies for Mentors:

Throughout this training program, participating mentors will be expected to:

• Establish and maintain a relationship with the trainee regarding overall functioning and performance level.
• Provide the equivalent of a job description, including expectations of the trainee.
• Contact students in advance of the placement to discuss the research project, and send them any necessary materials to prepare for it.
• Design a research project for the trainee that can be accomplished in 10 weeks, and develop a timeline to ensure the completion of the project. The project must be appropriate to the trainee’s level of experience and relevant to the mentor’s area of expertise.
• Meet with the trainee on a regular basis to track progress of the work.
• Notify the M-STREAM program administration of any issues that may arise during research placement.
• Ensure that the trainee meets all institutional and NIMH requirements for appropriate research training, including training on ethics.
• Remain available to the trainee, even if trainee’s home institution is elsewhere, to assist with completion of the research project, if necessary, and provide continued guidance.
• Assist the trainee with the preparation of an abstract on the research findings as well as in the preparation of an oral presentation at the M-STREAM Workshop at UCSD, and subsequent posters at the NIMH Day and a professional conference.
• Submit a report/evaluation of trainee’s performance and experience at regular intervals during the training and at the end of the training period.

Core Competencies for Mentors:

To aid trainees, each student will receive the M-STREAM “Guidelines and Expectations” handbook, which includes topics such as “What is a Mentor”, “Benefits of Having a Mentor”, and “Roles and Responsibilities” (included in the Appendix). By the end of their summer training, students will be expected to:

• Understand basic research methodology principles.
• Demonstrate increased knowledge of the core scientific area.
• Understand how to critically review the scientific literature.
• Be able to generate a hypothesis-driven research proposal.
• Receive exposure to basic biostatistics and quantitative data analysis.
• Understand ethical issues involved in human and/or animal research.
• Understand informed consent and Institutional Review Board functions.
• Understand regulatory and research issues related to inclusion of women and minorities.
• Be able to articulate research findings in a concise scientific presentation.
• Be able to present research findings in written format, including an abstract and a manuscript.
• Demonstrate highest level of professional integrity with respect to research findings and data reporting.
• Be able to recognize gaps in knowledge or skills, and develop learning plans to correct deficiencies.
• Be able to work well as a valued member of a research team.
• Understand mentor/trainee roles, responsibilities, and potential issues.