What is biomedical research?
Students learn the shape of the field: basic, translational, clinical, and computational research, plus how labs and research careers are structured.
What students will learn
Many undergraduate biomedical students understand textbook science but have never read a primary research paper carefully, written a literature review, or learned the unwritten rules of research. This track teaches the rules of the field so they can get ahead.
How to read a paper
Students learn the anatomy of a primary research paper, how scientists actually read figures, and how to identify the central claim, evidence, and limitations.
Finding your question
Research gaps, reviews, perspectives, search strategies, citation chasing, and how to scope a question that is interesting and tractable.
Paper presentations and critical reading
Each group presents an assigned paper and evaluates the claim, evidence, weaknesses, and what they would have done differently.
Experimental design in biomedical research
Study types, power and sample size intuition, replication crisis, pre-registration, open science, and common statistical pitfalls.
Lab techniques you should know about
PCR, Western blot, flow cytometry, single-cell RNA-seq, CRISPR, immunohistochemistry, and basic bioinformatics as scientific literacy.
Authorship, peer review, and publication norms
ICMJE criteria, author order, corresponding authorship, journal ranking, impact factor, predatory journals, preprints, and conflicts of interest.
Science communication for researchers
How to write an abstract, structure a conference talk, design a poster, communicate with specialists and general audiences, and handle feedback.
Capstone work session
Each group presents its draft, receives structured feedback, and meets briefly with instructors to refine the capstone.
Capstone presentations
Each group presents a literature review or research proposal for 15 minutes plus judging questions. Strong projects may be flagged for follow-on mentoring for publication.