The Division of Graduate Studies at Palmer College of Chiropractic and the Palmer Center for Chiropractic Research, in collaboration with the University of Iowa's College of Public Health, have partnered to establish the first federally funded chiropractic clinical research training (CRT) program ever offered to the profession at a chiropractic institution. The goal of the program is to train a new generation of highly motivated, talented young chiropractors to become productive clinical investigators, capable of performing vital research and competing successfully for grants at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH is the largest sponsor of health-care research in the world. Applications for the limited number of training positions are now being accepted. Classes start in November 2003.
The two-year, 36-credit-hour master's degree curriculum combines new and existing coursework, mentors, seminars, workshops, and research expertise at Palmer with the institutional resources and expertise of Iowa's, College of Public Health. Designed for chiropractors with the motivation, knowledge and desire to pursue an exciting career in chiropractic research, the program will train participants to: 1) select and apply appropriate study design and statistics; 2) conduct clinical research according to professional and legal ethics; 3) lead and manage a productive career in clinical research; 4) acquire and maintain expertise in a research domain; 5) communicate scientific knowledge through verbal presentations; and 6) write well-organized, logical journal publications, research proposals and grant applications.
The CRT program is made possible by a five-year, $1.5 million grant from the NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), which is committed to developing a scientific workforce capable of investigating the burgeoning field of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), including chiropractic. This award to Palmer College is the first such institutional training grant ever made to a nonmedical institution, and allows Palmer and the chiropractic profession to join a nationwide federal effort to enhance the nation's clinical research capabilities in all health-care fields.
With the largest ongoing research effort of any chiropractic college in the world, and with an established track record of securing funding from federal and private sources, Palmer is well-positioned to deliver the new CRT program, in collaboration with the University of Iowa. NCCAM established the Consortial Center for Chiropractic Research (CCCR) as a CAM specialty research center at Palmer in 1997. Palmer has faculty trained in both chiropractic practice and research methodology, and in several key disciplines relevant to chiropractic clinical research, including biostatistics. The new research facility at Palmer, also partially funded by a federal grant, has 25,000 square feet of state-of-the-art space for the research clinic; physiology and biomechanics laboratories; data management and seminar rooms; and conference rooms and faculty offices.
If you are curious about a career in chiropractic research, please visit www.palmer.edu/PCC_Academics/Graduate/graduate.htm, or contact Lori Byrd, program coordinator, at 563-884-5198 or lori.byrd@palmer.edu.
