Program Overview
Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Programs and Policies 2025–2026
Investigative Medicine
The Investigative Medicine program offers training for physicians in clinical departments who are interested in careers in clinical research. The program is designed to develop the broad knowledge base, analytical skills, creative thinking, and hands-on experience demanded of clinical researchers devoted to disease-oriented and patient-oriented investigation. The program provides the student with individualized experience encompassing formal course work and experience leading to a Ph.D. thesis under the supervision and mentorship of a graduate school faculty member. Students can undertake thesis work in a variety of disciplines. These include but are not limited to:
- Evaluating risk factors and interventions for disease using modern concepts in quantitative methods and clinical study design,
- Investigating the biochemical, physiological, and/or genetic basis of disease in a translational setting and/or laboratory.
Fields of Study
The program is designed to develop the broad knowledge base, analytical skills, creative thinking, and hands-on experience demanded of clinical researchers devoted to disease-oriented and patient-oriented investigation.
Special Requirements for the Ph.D. Degree
The course requirements for the doctorate program in investigative medicine are completion of six required courses plus two electives, either in laboratory-based patient-oriented research or clinically-based patient-oriented research. Most required courses are to be completed by the end of the first year of study. Before registering for a second year of study, students must have completed IMED 5630, Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research. Electives are often taken in the second year with the expectation that the courses will be completed by the end of the second year of study. To be admitted to candidacy, students must pass both a written and oral comprehensive qualifying exam (the prospectus examination) and submit a thesis prospectus that has been approved by their qualifying committee. To be eligible for the comprehensive qualifying exam, students must achieve a grade of Honors in two courses, have a minimum grade average of a High Pass, and have completed at least six courses. The remaining degree requirements include completion of the dissertation, writing of the dissertation, and its oral defense. It is expected that students will complete the program in three to five years. There is no foreign language requirement.
Course Requirements
Laboratory-Based Patient-Oriented Research
- IMED 5625: Principles of Clinical Research
- IMED 5630: Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research
- IMED 5645: Introduction to Biostatistics in Clinical Investigation
- IMED 6635: Directed Reading in Investigative Medicine
- IMED 6680: Topics in Human Investigation
- IMED 9665: Writing Your K- or R-Type Grant Proposal
- Two discipline-based electives. Director of graduate studies approval required.
Clinical-Based Patient-Oriented Research
- IMED 5630: Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research
- IMED 5661: Methods in Clinical Research, Part I
- IMED 5662: Methods in Clinical Research, Part II
- IMED 6635: Directed Reading in Investigative Medicine
- IMED 6680: Topics in Human Investigation
- IMED 9665: Writing Your K- or R-Type Grant Proposal
- Two discipline-based electives. Director of graduate studies approval required.
Courses
- IMED 5630a, Ethical Issues in Biomedical Research: This term-long course addresses topics central to biomedical research, including the ethics of clinical investigation, conflicts of interest, misconduct in research, data acquisition, and protection of human subjects.
- IMED 5661a, Methods in Clinical Research, Part I: This yearlong course presents in depth the methodologies used in patient-oriented research, including methods in biostatistics, clinical epidemiology, health services research, community-based participatory research, and health policy.
- IMED 6635a, Directed Reading in Investigative Medicine: An independent study course for first-year students in the Investigative Medicine program. Topics are chosen by the student, and reading lists are provided by faculty for weekly meetings to discuss articles.
- IMED 9665a, Writing Your K- or R-Type Grant Proposal: In this term-long course, students gain intensive, practical experience in evaluating and preparing grant proposals, including introduction to NIH study section format. The course gives new clinical investigators the essential tools to design and initiate their own proposals for obtaining grants to do research and to develop their own careers.