Education
For over 20 years, Center faculty have provided multidisciplinary training to Ph.D. and masters students, post-doctoral fellows, medical students and fellows, and visiting faculty. Training is given in the context of perinatal epidemiology and program evaluation research projects. The program draws students, fellows, and visiting faculty from a variety of disciplines, including biostatistics, epidemiology, social and behavioral sciences, computer science, economics, education, pediatrics, obstetrics and developmental psychology.
Center projects have provided the opportunity to train and mentor four post-doctoral fellows, more than 20 graduate students, and two visiting assistant professors. The research experience, education, and training gained on Center projects has played a significant role in these trainees landing good positions in the health care industry and academics. Former students currently hold positions at Eli Lilly and Company, Genentec, Pharmacia-Upjohn, Baxter Labs, and Avantis, in industry at research institutes such as the Cleveland Clinic, National Institute for Statistical Science and at Yale University, North Carolina State University, the University of South Florida and Emory and Henry College. Students have been placed as interns at the CDC and permanent employees at the United Nations.
The vast majority of trainees have been students from the Statistics Department seeking research experience in biostatistics and epidemiology. With the formation of MCHERDC, we will extend similar opportunities to students in Economics, Computer Science, Health Policy and Epidemiology, Foundations of Education, and to fellows in Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Training will follow a model that has worked well for us in the past. That is, new trainees contribute to research projects in a supporting role. As they gain experience they are asked to shoulder greater responsibility, with the most senior trainees taking the lead on projects under close mentoring by Center faculty. Trainees present their research results to Center personnel, at funding agencies, at the Florida Epidemiology Meeting, at the CDC conference on Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology, at Public Health conferences, or other appropriate research conference. This model has led past trainees to author or co-author papers in the Pediatrics, Statistics in Medicine, the American Journal of Epidemiology, the Florida Health Care Journal, the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The High School Journal and the American Journal of Perinatology.
Center projects also provide shorter-term experience for interns who are interested in gaining practical training in a health research environment.
This education and training mission in the context of research projects is essential to the contribution of MCHERDC to the overall mission of the University.
