Master of Science in Clinical Investigation
Please be advised. CCTS Scholarships are not going to be available for newly matriculated students January 2025-2026.
The Master of Science Degree in Clinical Investigation (MSCI) Program emphasizes the development of strong clinical investigation skills based on a solid foundation in study design, conduct of observational studies and randomized trials, clinical epidemiology, and biostatistics. Students acquire excellent writing and oral presentation skills through formal classroom work as well as by participating in several oral presentations.
Trainees completing the MSCI Program acquire the necessary skills to successfully
- Design, conduct, and analyze the results of clinical investigations at the individual and population-wide level.
- Design and analyze the results of studies that provide insights into the molecular pathophysiology of disease.
Trainees are grounded in the principles of clinical investigation with a flexible multidisciplinary focus providing curriculum tailored to their needs and interests as researchers aspiring to become successful independent clinical investigators.
Our clinical investigation research program is primarily intended for individuals already trained in the medical sciences as well as others with relevant scientific backgrounds and experiences who desire further training in research design and methodology. This includes physicians, nurses, dentists, medical students, other health care professionals, and PhD level scientists desiring to pivot to clinical investigations.
The MSCI program works with Fellowship Directors, Residency Directors, K-award mentees, and Director Supervisors to integrate the MSCI educational requirements with clinical or other responsibilities. To facilitate the integration of MSCI requirements with clinical responsibilities, the MSCI program has no educational formal course requirements held on Mondays and Fridays and core required courses are held on Tuesday and Thursdays between 8am and noon and Wednesdays 3:30-5pm.
Concentrations
The MSCI Program offers two concentration tracks:
- Population based clinical research
- Bench-to -bedside translational research
These concentrations allow students to enhance their knowledge based on their current interests and career objectives. The participating faculty, representing the interdisciplinary nature of our MSCI Program, come from the disciplines of epidemiology, biostatistics, clinical research, biomedical informatics, molecular medicine, genomics, advanced therapeutics technologies, and drug development.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Students in the MS in Clinical Investigation Program complete a structured series of courses, seminars, and workshops related to the design, conduct, and analysis of clinical research. The core curriculum is enhanced with presentations by invited speakers, participation in journal clubs and research in progress seminars, research conferences, and extensive contact with their mentoring teams.
Students must satisfactorily complete a total of 36 credits to obtain the Master’s Degree. This includes a core curriculum, elective courses, and the satisfactory completion of their thesis research. Each student develops an individualized curriculum based on research goals, clinical responsibilities, and other factors. Students typically complete this degree over the course of 18 months to 2 years. Medical students take a year leave of absence from medical school to complete the MSCI via an intense 1-year curriculum.
For the satisfactory completion of a thesis, students must design a research project, defend a formal proposal, perform the described study, and prepare a scholarly scientific paper on the principal study findings. The thesis must be relevant to the student’s concentration track and written in the format of an article suitable for submission to a scientific journal. The initial thesis project, and final write-up of the research project must be approved by the student’s Thesis Committee which is comprised of three faculty members from the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. An oral presentation of the findings is required.
LEADERSHIP AND FACULTY
PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Robert Goldberg, PhD
MS in Clinical Investigation Program Director
email Dr. Goldberg
FACULTY
Our faculty and students conduct science that makes a difference in several areas of excellence, including:
- Aging
- Cardiovascular Disease
- Health Disparities
- Health Informatics and Implementation Science
- Health Promotion & Disease Prevention
- Health Services Research
- Pharmacoepidemiology
OUR STUDENTS
Benjamin Gallant, MD
Benjamin Gallant is a general surgery resident in the Department of Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a focus in the Neuroscience Certificate Program from Providence College, then obtained a Doctor of Medicine at Albany Medical College. He is currently on two academic development years, where he will be working as the Mark Justin Kusek Colorectal Surgery Research Fellow with the Dept of Colorectal Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center focusing on a variety of clinical outcomes, risk prediction models for diverticulitis patients, and quality improvement projects.
Carolyn Garcia, MD
Dr. Carolyn Garcia is a Pulmonary and Critical Care physician at Baystate Health and an Assistant Professor of Medicine with a secondary appointment in the Department of Healthcare Delivery and Population Sciences at UMass Chan Medical School-Baystate. She received her Doctor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, completed an Internal Medicine residency at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, and was a clinical and research fellow in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Garcia is the recipient of a National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Diversity Research Supplement grant which will support her research interest in improving patient-centered outcomes for individuals living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Andrew Hu, MD
Andrew Hu is a general surgery resident at the Department of Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He received a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Boston College, a Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences and a Doctor of Medicine degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. He is currently on two academic development years, where he will be working as the Geof and Penelope Booth Colorectal Surgery Research Fellow with the Department of Colorectal Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center focusing on a variety of clinical outcomes, video content, AI innovation in surgery projects, and quality improvement projects.
Kayla Widdowson, MD
Kayla Widdowson is a general surgery resident in the Department of Surgery at UMass Memorial Medical Center. She grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and received both her Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology and her Doctor of Medicine from the University of Miami in Miami, FL. She is currently on two academic development years, where she will be working closely with the Department of Surgical Oncology on a variety of clinical outcomes, translational, and quality improvement projects.