Resident Research Rotation FAQ for Applicants
Who can I work with?
What type of project can I work on?
How are resident research rotations funded?
Grant writing - why, how and when
Is there a possibility of turning the resident rotation into a PhD?
What am I expected to accomplish in 18 months?
What is the research environment like at Penn?
What other resources are available to me?
Can I do clinical research instead of basic science research?
Where do I submit my research grant proposal?
How do I find a mentor? (List of links)
Is the time protected?
What other responsibilities do the lab residents have?
Do residents attend meetings?
Who can I work with?
In principle, you can work with any faculty member at Penn. We encourage you to consider the basic science labs in
Neurosurgery, and all of our PI's have successfully mentored residents. But you can also consider labs in
Bioengineering, Radiology, Neurology, Neuroscience, the Institute for Medicine and Engineering, the Nano/Bio
Interface Center, the Center for Neurodegenerative Disease Research, the Center for Brain Injury and Repair, or the
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. These are only a few examples. We encourage you to take advantage of the
rich collaborative research environment at Penn. In fact, you might wish to work with co-mentors - for example,
one basic science and one clinical faculty member, or one junior and one senior faculty member, or one mentor from
Neurosurgery and one from another department. These co-mentorship arrangements have worked out well in the past
and can give you the benefit of committed intellectual input from two sources with quite different points of few,
as well as the resources and expertise in two labs.
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What type of project can I work on?
No one will dictate to you the type of research project. If you become inspired by a problem you face in the OR
or by a speaker at Grand Rounds, by all means find a lab to pursue your interest. If you have a good basic
science background and want to design your own project, you might seek out a senior faculty member who has the
resources to start something new with you. If you have less basic science experience, look for a faculty member
with an ongoing project that you can contribute to. Ideally, find a project that is related to your developing
clinical interests.
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How are resident research rotations funded?
Residents write a research grant proposal which is submitted to extramural funding sources. The department also
holds an NIH T32 training grant which has a slot for resident research. You should discuss the deadlines with
your mentor as soon as you have committed to their lab.
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Grant writing - why, how and when
Grant writing is an essential part of the research training at Penn. Seven years will go by quickly and when you
become a faculty member at an academic institution, you will be expected to write a K grant, an RO1 or participate
in RO1s and program project grants at your institution. At Penn we try to prepare you for this critical part of
being an academic neurosurgeon. As soon as you identify your research mentor(s), you can begin formulating your
project and writing the proposal. (Be sure to identify the submission dates for the relevant funding agencies.)
There are three key goals: (1) To give you experience in formulating your hypothesis, learning to summarize the
literature and present your preliminary data in a compelling way and to familiarize you with the NIH formats,
submission and review process; (2) To clarify with your mentor your research goals and methodologies before you
start in the lab, so you can "hit the ground running"; (3) When your fellowship is funded, it becomes a line on
your CV that shows you can successfully compete for extramural funding. This will make you even more competitive
for future applications as a faculty member. Our track record in helping residents get funded is very successful
(see above).
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Is there a possibility of turning the resident rotation into a PhD?
Yes, but you must apply to and be accepted by a Penn graduate group and the training plan must be acceptable to
both the graduate group and the Neurosurgery department.
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What am I expected to accomplish in 18 months?
You are expected to generate a body of novel research and publish it. The faculty mentors are all quite aware of
the time constraints and will work with you to keep your project focused.
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What is the research environment like at Penn?
Very collaborative.
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What other resources are available to me?
Penn has a large number of core facilities that can help you to speed up the technical aspects of your work.
Check http://www.med.upenn.edu/rpd/core_facil.html for
some ideas.
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Can I do clinical research instead of basic science research?
Residents participate in and publish clinical research throughout their residency. The research rotation is
specifically meant to give you basic science or translational research experience.
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Where do I submit my research grant proposal?
Typically, the residents submit their research proposal to one or more of the following sources: the NIH (for an
NRSA award), the AANS, medical device companies, the departmental T32 training grant.
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How do I find a mentor?
In your 3rd year or sooner, Dr. Grady will encourage you to meet or re-meet faculty of the labs you are interested
in. Talk to faculty in the department about your interests and get some recommendations. Talk to other
residents. Search Penn websites:
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Is the time protected?
The time is fairly well protected. Lab residents are expected to cover when the chief residents are away for
meetings or job interviews.
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What other responsibilities do the lab residents have?
Lab residents take the leadership role in the recruitment and interview process for new applicants. They have a
vested interest in this process since the incoming residents will be their junior residents when they are the
chiefs. Also, the boards are taken for credit during March of PGY5 and there should be some time set aside to
study for it.
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Do residents attend meetings?
Residents may attend the national neurosurgical meetings (AANS and CNS) when their work is accepted for oral
presentation. During their research time residents may attend specialty meetings where their presentations have
been accepted.
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