Medical Student Research Opportunities

An Institutional Review Board (IRB) is a federally mandated committee that has been formally designated to review, approve, and monitor research involving humans as subjects. The intent of the IRB is to protect the rights and welfare of the research subjects [45 CFR 46].  

The University of Nevada, Reno has one IRB that reviews both biomedical research and social behavioral research. The board must be comprised of at least five members with varying backgrounds to promote complete and adequate review of the research activities commonly conducted by the institution. The IRB shall be sufficiently qualified through the experience and expertise of its members, and the diversity of the members, including consideration of race, gender, and cultural backgrounds and sensitivity to such issues as community attitudes, to promote respect for its advice and counsel in safeguarding the rights and welfare of human subjects. The board must include at least one scientific member, one non-scientific member, and one member who is not otherwise associated with the University. 

For guidance regarding how to submit research projects for the IRB to review, please navigate to the: IRB Quickstart Guide for Researchers 

Human Subjects Training 

All medical student investigators engaged in human research activities (including principal investigators, co-investigators, student investigators, research coordinators and any other research personnel who plan to engage in human research activities) must complete the required training for human research. To determine who is considered to be engaged in human research, review the criteria outlined in the Human Research Protection Policy Manual definition for “Engaged in Human Subjects Research (Engagement in Research).” 

Medical student researchers should create an account on the CITI online training platform and follow the course navigation instructions offered in the training for human research section of the training information page from UNR Research Integrity & Security. 

University researchers must complete one of the following courses (as appropriate for their research discipline) to satisfy human research training requirements: 

• Social-Behavioral-Educational (SBE) Comprehensive course 

• Biomedical (Biomed) Comprehensive course 

HIPAA Training 

HIPAA training is required for research projects that involve accessing or collecting protected health information (PHI). University researchers and ALL medical students using PHI must provide evidence of CITI training in one of the following CITI courses: 

• HIPAA for Education and Research 

• HIPAA Basics for Healthcare Professionals 

The HIPAA courses are valid for 1 (one) year. 

Further guidance relating to creating a CITI account and accessing trainings can be found here: Training for Human Subjects Research/ HIPAA 

The University’s IRB uses an online electronic system, IRBNet, for submission management and IRB review. All human research projects must be submitted through IRBNet. 

Step-by-step guides for using IRBNet, including initial registration of a user account and navigation through the submission process, are available on the University’s IRBNet Access and Training Guide. 

Information regarding summer research opportunities can be found on this webpage, through email announcements from UNR Med research leadership, and/or contacting the Translational Research Center team.  

Our Team

Researchers can also read guidance from previous students on how to navigate summer research opportunities here: Navigating Summer Research Opportunities: A Guide for Medical Students 

An ORCID is a free persistent unique identifier that helps you reference your scholarly work, and showcase your scholarly contributions, publications, grants, affiliations, and more. 

It is recommended that all medical students register for an ORCID within their first-year of medical education to keep track of their previous and future scholarly work, all in one place.  

For guidance regarding registering for ORICD, or for questions or concerns, please reference this page: ORCID Support 

The UNR Med Open Access Publishing Fund was established to help defray the cost of article processing fees for authors publishing in open access journals. Goals of this program are to: 

• Facilitate publication by students and early-career investigators
• Accelerate the online availability of published articles
• Broaden the impact of research generated by the UNR Med community

To get started on your publication journey, funding availability, and for questions and concerns, please refer to this page: UNR Med Open Access Publishing Fund 

Presenting research at a conference is a valuable opportunity for students to showcase their scholarly work and network with researchers, clinicians, and peers. UNR Med encourages and supports student participation in regional, national, and international scientific meetings as part of their professional development. 

Students may present posters, oral presentations, or other forms of scholarly work across a wide range of disciplines. Participation in conferences helps students: 

• Build confidence in communicating scientific findings 
• Gain experience with academic and professional conference culture 
• Receive feedback from experts in their field 
• Expand their professional network and explore future research or residency opportunities 

UNR Med offers guidance on identifying appropriate conferences, preparing abstracts, and developing high‑quality presentations. Limited funding may also be available to assist with travel or registration costs for approved student presenters. 

For questions about conference participation or available travel support, please contact the student executive committee (SEC).  

For questions relating to medical student research please contact:  

• Alex McGuire, MPH - alexismcguire@unr.edu
• John Westhoff, M.D., MPH - jwesthoff@unr.edu

For questions relating to the IRB please contact:  

• Alex McGuire, MPH - alexismcguire@unr.edu
• Sierra Willis, M.S - sierrawillis@unr.edu

For questions relating to biostatistical support please contact:  

• Alex McGuire, MPH - alexismcguire@unr.edu
• Wei Yang, Ph.D., M.D. - weiyang@unr.edu

For questions relating to the IDEA Project, please contact:  

• Jonathan Chastain, D.O - jchastain@med.unr.edu

For questions relating to research data access, please contact:  

• Jonathan Chastain, D.O - jchastain@med.unr.edu

For questions relating to financial aid please contact:  

• Leonard Walker, M.Ed. - lrwalker@med.unr.edu

For questions relating to medical student summer research stipends, please contact:

• Alex McGuire, MPH - alexismcguire@unr.edu