Research will begin in the first year of the fellowship, providing fellows the opportunity to choose an area of interest for scholarly activity, identify a mentor and commence research. In the first year, fellows have four weeks dedicated to research to allow for the identification of a mentor and a project. Fellows will then prepare a research proposal with their mentor’s input.

With guidance from the program director, the fellows will select a Scholarly Oversight Committee (SOC) to help oversee their research design and progress. The SOC is composed of at least three faculty members who meet with the fellow as a group at least twice per year to review the fellow’s training progress and make recommendations.

80% of their time will be spent working on research projects under the direction of a primary mentor.

The research mentor, SOC and Clinical Competency Committee will assess progress. 

Fellows will be encouraged to submit abstracts to national meetings, submit and publish study results via manuscripts, and consider submission of grant applications.

To promote a successful research project, education by the research mentor and pediatric endocrine faculty regarding study design, IRB preparation, epidemiology, biostatistics and other elements is part of the core curriculum.

Multiple scholarly opportunities exist within the division as well as with collaboration with other sections of the Department of Pediatrics and UCI.

The Islet Program at UCI offers the fellow a unique experience in diabetes bench research (e.g., islet transplantation) with direct mentorship and supervision.