Shapiro Summer Research Program

The Department of Medicine is pleased to support the UW School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Shapiro Summer Research Program. The program is designed to educate students about the process of scientific research and to develop skills in research study design, methodology, statistical analysis and presentation of findings.

The program provides opportunities for medical students to play an active, full-time role in a research project under the mentorship of department faculty for 8 to 10 weeks during the summer. Hypothesis-driven projects in basic science, clinical, translational, health services, population/public health or global health are eligible projects.

The Herman and Gwendolyn Shapiro Foundation provides matching funds to cover 50% of the students' stipends and expenses. The department would like to fund as many applications as possible that meet the basic expectations outlined below. Faculty submitting projects not meeting these criteria will be asked to sponsor the student with other sources of funding (e.g., grants, discretionary funds, etc.).

Timeline, Deadlines and Submission Information

Expectations and Support

Mentorship Expectations

The primary mentor is a Department of Medicine (DOM) faculty member.
The department encourages research mentors to participate in a mentorship training exercise at least once every five years. Several opportunities are available through the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) and the DOM.
Mentors work with the student to develop a testable hypothesis and discrete learning objectives for the application.
The primary mentor is available on campus for in-person interactions with the student for at least six weeks of the research experience. Meetings should include evaluation of internal milestones and overall project success.
Mentors are responsible for securing all regulatory approvals prior to students’ start dates.
Mentors are expected to be actively engaged and involved in all research data requests and consultations, as well as provide the Clinical & Health Informatics Institute (CHI2) enough lead time to meet required deadlines, if applicable.
If the use of the DOM Office of Research Services (ORS) statistical support is planned, the mentor is required to be available to attend all consultation sessions to maximize efficiency.
If your Shapiro Program student is assigned a DOM–managed laptop, mentors are responsible for making sure the laptop is returned to the department by October 1. Otherwise, the mentor will be charged for the replacement costs.
Review SMPH’s Shapiro Summer Research Program Information for Faculty webpage.

Watch the 2023 DOM Shapiro Mentor Meeting video.

Project Expectations

The project contains a hypothesis statement that is testable during the student’s tenure on the project. This will often relate to a broader research question that is beyond the scope of the student’s participation; however, this distinction should be very clear.
The project contains a rigorous quantitative or qualitative data collection method defined in the application.
Regulatory approvals are complete prior to the students’ start date. Similarly, if the project involves data from the electronic health records (EHR), this database and data extraction should be completed prior to the program start date.
Inclusion of the student in the data analysis plan should be clear in the application. If some of the data collection activities performed by the student relate to preparatory work for the broader research question, having an existing data set for a secondary analysis is also acceptable.
The 8-to-10-week project must be completed within the 13-week summer break period.
Projects in need of students are submitted via Google Forms and the full list of available projects can be viewed on SMPH’s Shapiro Projects webpage.

Biostatistical and Regulatory Support

Please keep your Shapiro project's IRB and IACUC regulatory and biostatistical needs in mind. Please dedicate adequate time prior to the student's start date for these approvals and processes. If you have any questions, please contact the DOM Office of Research Services at researchservices@medicine.wisc.edu.

Student Expectations

The 8-to-10-week project must be completed within the 13-week summer break period.
Students are responsible for finding their own mentor through SMPH’s list of available mentorship opportunities. Alternatively, students may work directly with a self-identified mentor to develop an unpromoted project.
Students are also responsible for working in conjunction with their mentors to create the project aims, hypothesis, and final product outcomes.
If utilizing services from the DOM ORS, both students and their mentors must be actively involved in project meetings and reviews.
When working with research data involving human subjects, students must use a DOM-managed computer. The use of personal computers for this type of work is prohibited.
Review SMPH’s Shapiro Summer Research Program Instructions for Students webpage.

DOM-Managed Laptops

The DOM Office of Research Services has made it possible for Shapiro students doing work with protected health information (PHI) and/or university data to be assigned a DOM–managed laptop. DOM students will receive an email prompt to schedule an appointment to receive and set-up their assigned computers prior to the start of the Shapiro Program.

Students should contact the DOM IT Helpdesk at help@medicine.wisc.edu to:

Return computers to DOM. This should be done when student projects are complete, but no later than October 1.
Install all software unless it's been pre-approved for risk. See Software Overview for more information about downloading and links to articles about pre-approved, free and for-a-fee software.
Report a lost or stolen laptop. If a laptop is stolen, students should also review How to Report Stolen Computers and Equipment and take the additional recommended steps.

Student Stipends

Students in the Shapiro Program receive a stipend of $400 per week for the duration of their summer research. The stipend is paid in a single payment at the beginning of the summer.

Stipend Funding

A maximum of two students per faculty member may receive funding for the Shapiro Program through SMPH.

Mentors and/or departments are responsible for providing a 50% match of the student stipend ($200/week) for the length of the student’s appointment (usually 8 to 10 weeks). The DOM will fund the matching stipend support for all project applications that are recommended by the DOM’s Research Education Committee and approved by the DOM’s Research Leadership Team.

Funding of Other Costs

Mentors are responsible for funding other research costs such as laboratory supplies, office supplies, space, IT resources, publication costs, tuition for any courses that the faculty mentor requires, etc. They are also expected to help offset some or all the costs of student meeting travel. However, the Shapiro Program and the Department of Medicine may have resources to assist with these expenses.

The Shapiro Program has limited funds of up to $500 per student to assist with travel. The availability of funds is based on the number of requests received annually. To make a request, students should submit an application.

With mentor support, department students may apply for the use of Academic Discretionary Funds through DOM Finance to pay up to $2,000 in travel expenses. Students may complete the required form and upload the conference information (see link below).

If mentors would prefer to use Academic Discretionary Funds for materials and supplies related to student research projects, and can justify how the expenses are not related to any of their current research, then they can request consideration of these expenses instead of travel.

More details about Academic Discretionary Funds can be found on the DOM’s Internal Funding Opportunities webpage.