Residents are required to complete a scholarly project during their training. This scholarly project may consist of an original paper, a quality improvement project, or a scholarly case report. Residents present their findings to their peers during the program’s Resident Research Fair yearly. Winners from the fair will present their research during a Grand Rounds presentation. Their project is then added to their portfolios so it can be assessed as part of their semi-annual review.

Many residents opt to become involved in additional research and scholarly projects here at Mather as well as through the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research at Northwell Health. Through this local and expansive research network, our residents have published in journals including The New England Journal of Medicine and have presented their work at medical subspecialty conferences across the country and internationally.

Residents are afforded protected time during their ambulatory blocks to pursue their research interests. Our flexible block scheduling allows for additional time to be set aside for electives when residents can devote time exclusively to their scholarly activities. Faculty also have protected time to participate in and oversee research.

The dramatic success in scholarly activity that Mather has enjoyed through its early years owes not only to our philosophy of creating an environment of inquiry, but also to the work of our dedicated on-sight research and scholarly activity mentor, Alexa Christophides.

 

Alexa Christophides, MHA, CCRC, EMT-B serves as Senior Clinical Research Coordinator and the Graduate Medical Education Academic Research Advisor at Northwell Mather Hospital, where she supports clinical research development, assists with resident and fellow scholarship guidance, and research education across multiple specialties.

Ms. Christophides teaches residents a series on Research Methodology, with topics that include:

  • Choosing manageable projects that can be completed and published in a timely manner
    • Understanding the statistical tools needed in clinical study design, data analysis, and publication
    • Navigating the process of study design, IRB approval needs, funding sources, protocol revisions and how to handle them
    • Understanding placebo and nocebo effects
    • Differentiating between effectiveness and efficacy outcomes
    • Selecting appropriate outcome measures – surrogate vs. other
    • HIPAA and Informed Consent

Ms. Christophides guides residents with topic development, planning, data gathering, analysis, and drafting. She matches residents with appropriate research mentors and facilitate research relationships and collaboration between residents and faculty.