As traditions go, the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s Scholarly Project is relatively new. When it was initiated in 2004, this concept of a mandatory, multiyear, research-driven, limited-onlyby- the-bounds-of-the-imagination undertaking was also novel. Fast-forward to today, and scholarly projects are becoming a rite of passage at other med schools, including Harvard’s.

 

That doesn’t surprise David Hackam, an MD/PhD, associate dean of medical student research, Watson Family Professor of Surgery, and associate professor of cell biology. He’s been overseeing the program since 2010. (To learn about this prof’s promising breakthroughs

from his other roles as a pediatric surgeon and scientist, see p. 24.) For Hackam, the goal is simple: “We want our students to look beyond textbooks and develop critical-thinking skills and the ability to test hypotheses.”

 

Students choose individual topics that interest them and then, in most cases, begin research over the summer between their first and second years so that they can officially begin their S cholarly Projects by sophomore year. By graduation, Hackam asserts, they become experts in their areas of research and, as a result, are highly sought after for residencies. That fact has not gone unnoticed by aspiring physicians. According to Hackam, “Informal surveys indicate that a significant number of our students are coming here because of the Scholarly Project.”