THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA

APPENDIX A: NOTIFICATION OF INTENT TO PLAN A NEW BACCALAUREATE, MASTER’S, OR CAS PROGRAM

Date: / July 24, 2007
Constituent Institution: / East Carolina University
School/College: / Brody School of Medicine / Department: / Brody School of Medicine Research & Graduate Studies
Program Identification:
CIP Discipline Specialty Title: / Biomedical Sciences, General
CIP Discipline Specialty Code: / 26.0102.123.000 / Level: B / M / X / D
Exact Title of the Proposed Degree: / Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences
Exact Degree Abbreviation (e.g., BS, BA, MA, MS, CAS) / MS
Does the proposed program constitute a substantive change as defined by SACS? / Yes / No / X
a) Is it at a more advanced level than those previously authorized? / Yes / No / X
b) Is the proposed program in a new discipline division? / Yes / No / X
Approximate date for submitting the request to establish proposal (must be within one year of date of submission of notification of intent to plan): / Spring 2008
Proposed date to establish degree (month and year): (Date can be no sooner than six months after the date of notification of intent to plan and must allow at least three months for review of the request to establish, once submitted). / Fall 2009

1. Describe the proposed new degree program. The description should include

a) a brief description of the program and a statement of educational objectives

The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University is committed to the education and development of professionals in the medical sciences. This commitment extends not only to training future physicians but also to educating graduate and post graduate students. Assessment of our graduate programs both internally by the Graduate Studies Committee, and externally by the Yardley Group and departmental graduate program reviews, has identified a significant opportunity to enhance the educational programs for all learners by establishing an interdisciplinary program leading to the degree of master of science in biomedical sciences. This program will involve faculty from the basic science departments at the School of Medicine as well as research faculty from the clinical departments. The goal of this degree program is to provide advanced training in biomedical research to learners at the graduate and post-graduate levels. Through direct participation in ongoing research, students will be instructed in the application of the scientific method and state-of-the-art experimental approaches to the investigation of biomedical problems. They will be provided the background and foundation in scientific exploration that will equip them to participate in and conduct further research. In addition to moving the research agenda forward, it is anticipated that the graduates of this program will eventually enter the work force in the areas of medicine, biomedical research, or health education, which are areas of manpower shortages.

This program will target three groups of potential students: a. Traditional graduate students; b. select medical students; c. residents or fellows in clinical training. In addition, some clinical faculty at the School of Medicine may choose to participate in this program to take advantage of the opportunity to obtain a more in-depth research experience that would ultimately culminate in an academic degree.

1) Graduate students. This group will be the largest and will consist of students who wish to obtain this advanced degree to provide them with academic credentials and research experience that will enable them to: a. enter the work force in the pharmaceutical or biotechnology industry at higher levels of involvement; b. increase their qualifications for acceptance into advanced graduate programs such as the MD or PhD programs; and c. teach in the basic medical science curriculum at the community college level.

2) Medical Students. In the 2006 report of the AAMC’s Task Force II on Clinical Research titled “Promoting Translational and Clinical Science: The Critical Role of Medical Schools and Teaching Hospitals”, the shortage of clinical scientists was reported and a strong case for increased research training of physicians was documented. The proposed degree program is intended to help address this decline in the production of

Notification of Intent to Plan Master of Biomedical Sciences

East Carolina University, Page 2

physician scientists. In addition, the degree program will develop and reinforce the interest in an academic career in medicine expressed by several of our medical students. Recruitment of a small number of medical students into biomedical research does not conflict with the mission of the School of Medicine to produce physicians dedicated to the delivery of primary health care. The vast majority of our graduates do just that. There is, however, an implicit responsibility of every school of medicine to seek new knowledge and to encourage those students who wish to do so. Indeed, the need to provide physician scientists for careers in academic medicine is necessary to insure the appropriate education of future physicians oriented towards primary care.

3) Indeed, the need to provide physician scientists to academic medicine is necessary to insure that appropriate education and training of future physicians oriented towards primary care is an emerging need of some urgency.

3) Resident Physicians, clinical fellows, and full-time faculty. This degree program will also be offered to postgraduate physicians to provide an avenue that will interest a few physicians-in-training to choose academic careers. Many clinical specialty and subspecialty boards require research experience for eligibility and accreditation of their programs. The research that accompanies this experience can be less than satisfying and often is casual or superficial. Through the opportunity to participate in a rigorous degree-granting program, we propose to set a standard that culminates in a high-quality research experience and meaningful credentials. This degree program would also be available to junior faculty at the School of Medicine who desire to achieve higher levels of scholarly contribution. Thus, this program will provide an additional level of credentialing for these individuals, as well as those in 2., above, who will help to form the nucleus of the next generation of academic physicians.

All resident physicians and medical students must meet the standards set forth in the East Carolina University Bulletin, Graduate Catalog for admission to this master’s degree program. Physicians must be enrolled in an accredited residency or fellowship program for admission. In addition, faculty physicians who desire additional research training would be eligible for participation according to the guidelines of East Carolina University and the permission of the department chair. For students pursuing a medical degree, the prerequisites for admission to the program will be satisfactory completion of at least two years of an approved medical school curriculum. The curriculum for students in 2. and 3., above, will be highly research oriented with minimal didactic course work. The MS degree will be conferred upon these physicians and medical students after demonstration of appropriate experimental data and defense of a thesis. This will give them the opportunity to defend their research against thoughtful criticism and thus improve their presentation and cognitive scientific skills at the same time. Here, the goal is that the students will become sufficiently excited about, and skilled in, scientific activities so that they will continue to be active participants in biomedical research throughout their career. Although the principal mission of the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University is to prepare medical students for careers in primary health care, there is an obligation of all medical schools to produce, in addition, high-quality scientific researchers and to encourage a small number of selected individuals to pursue careers in academic medicine. The development of an interest in research will also promote the desire to be life-long learners in the medical sciences.

Educational Objectives:

The degree program will:

·  Graduate master’s-prepared students who will become leaders in the field of biomedical sciences.

·  Provide research-trained biomedical scientists in response to the shortage of medical scientists.

·  Stimulate collaboration with basic science and clinical faculty in both teaching and research endeavors.

·  Enhance doctoral programs at the Brody School of Medicine.

The graduates of this program will be able to:

·  Explain and integrate concepts of the basic medical sciences (learners in groups 2. and 3., above, will enter the program with this ability).

·  Critically analyze and evaluate research published in scientific journals.

·  Design and conduct experiments in biomedical research.

·  Critically analyze and interpret experimental data.

·  Present and defend research findings.

b) the relationship of the proposed new program to the institutional mission and how the program fits into the institution’s strategic plan

The mission of East Carolina University is to serve through education, research and creative activity, and leadership and partnership. This MS in biomedical sciences meets all of these missions. It will provide the education to graduate students who will pursue careers in biomedical research or increase their credentials, and thus, their acceptability into more advanced degree programs such as the MD or PhD. This research-oriented program will not only lead to the generation of new knowledge but will also increase the productivity of the faculty mentors. It will provide research credentials to physicians, thus increasing the possibility that they will assume leadership roles in the academic community. The creation of a MS degree program is called for on page 8 of the School of Medicine’s 2006-2009 strategic plan.

c) the relationship of the proposed new program to other existing programs at the institution

This program is closely related to the PhD programs in the basic medical sciences and will utilize the same faculty as teachers and mentors. This program will increase both the size and more importantly the quality of the pool of applicants, and thus it is anticipated that some of the graduates of this program will be accepted into the PhD or MD degree programs at ECU or elsewhere. This will result in an increase in the quality of our MD and PhD students. This program is also similar to the MD/PhD program with the main difference being a shorter time devoted to the research component. This is expected to be more acceptable to medical students. Efforts will be made to identify and accept a few MD students with an interest in biomedical research. It might be anticipated that some of the external funds now used to support the PhD students would be shifted to support these master’s students and this may occur to a small extent. However, it is more likely that support will be shifted from research technicians.

d) special features or conditions that make the institution a desirable, unique, or appropriate place to initiate such a degree program.

The basic science departments at the School of Medicine have an outstanding record in graduate education. They were the first programs to offer the PhD degree and are responsible for the production of over one-half of all the PhD degrees granted by East Carolina University. Faculty members in both the basic science and clinical departments have also served as mentors for, and directed the thesis research of MS students from the Departments of Biology, Chemistry, and Exercise and Sport Science. The faculty in basic science departments have a long history of working together with clinical departments in both teaching and research. The School of Medicine also has a strong research record at East Carolina University, being responsible for obtaining nearly one-half of all the external grants and contracts. This makes it a natural home for a research oriented program. Thus, this interdisciplinary master’s degree in biomedical sciences is a natural outgrowth of the cooperation between the various departments.

2. List all other public and private institutions of higher education in North Carolina currently operating programs similar to the proposed new degree program.

There are no similar master’s programs in the UNC system. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) offers some more specific master’s programs by basic science departments in their school of medicine such as a MS in cell and molecular physiology and cell and developmental biology. However, these master’s degrees are only offered as terminal degrees to graduate students in unusual circumstances. The School of Medicine at Wake Forest University offers a degree program leading to the master’s degree in clinical epidemiology and health services research to both students with a BA/BS degree and those with advanced clinical degrees. While this program might appear to be similar to our proposed program, it is in fact similar to a master’s of public health. A MD/PhD program is offered at the Duke University Medical Center; however, they do not offer a similar master’s program. In summary, a program that encompasses the broad area of medical sciences, thus permitting interdisciplinary studies in the basic biomedical sciences at the master’s level, does not exist in North Carolina.

3. Estimate the number of students that would be enrolled in the program during the first year of operation.

Full-time / 8 -10 / Part-time

The recruitment of traditional graduate students for this program will be carried out largely by the departments participating in the program and will be closely coupled to the recruitment of the PhD students. To date the most successful strategies have been to advertise at professional meetings and on the web. The recruitment of MD students for this program will be coordinated with the Office of Admissions and Office of Academic Affairs at the Brody School of Medicine. Care will be taken to ensure that the number of students enrolled in this program will be congruent with the capacity of the medical preceptorships.

4. If there are plans to offer the program away from campus during the first year of operation:

a) briefly describe these plans, including potential sites and possible method(s) of delivering instruction.

b) indicate any similar programs being offered off-campus in North Carolina by other institutions (public or private).

c) estimate the number of students that would be enrolled in the program during the first year of operation:

Full-time / Part-time

This program will be on campus only.

5. List the names, titles, e-mail addresses, and telephone numbers of the person(s) responsible for planning the proposed program.

Dr. George Kasperek, assistant dean for graduate studies (, 252-744-3305), will lead the planning of the new degree program. He will be assisted by the chairs and directors of graduate programs for individual departments and degree programs at the School of Medicine. The Graduate Studies Committee of the School of Medicine will also play a major role in developing the course of study and curriculum for this new program.

The intent to plan a new program has been reviewed and approved by the appropriate campus committees and authorities.

Chancellor: / Date: