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Biomedical Research & Process Partnership between MVCDS & UT
Maumee Valley Country Day School and the University of Toledo College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences have created a unique partnership that allows high school students to participate in authentic, on-going research within the HOSS program (Health Outcomes and Socioeconomic Sciences) of the Department of Pharmacy Practice. Headed by Dr. Sharrel Pinto, division head of HOSS and director of the Pharmaceutical Care and Outcomes Research (PCOR) laboratory and Brandon Slotterbeck, Maumee Valley Upper School science faculty and former research analyst within the UT College of Pharmacy, the goal of this program is to allow students to experience current, 21st century research methods inside actual working research laboratories and higher educational facilities.
The Biomedical Research & Process course can enroll up to 14 students and covers the conduct of studies, including development of a research question, study monitoring, data assessment and outcome analysis writing. Discussions include how to critically evaluate research findings on the basis of construct validity, internal validity, statistical significance and conformity to ethical research principles. Students get first-hand experience with these topics by participating in authentic research projects and personalized oversight by being paired with graduate student mentors within Dr. Pinto’s lab and one-on-one coaching by Dr. Pinto. Students spend significant time at UT locations working in clinical and research settings while their time spent on the MVCDS campus is used for recitation, reflection and analysis of work performed.
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This partnership also acts as a primer for students wanting to further explore research as a career. Motivated students are encouraged to continue their work started in this course by participating in an internship in Dr. Pinto’s laboratory during their independent study at Maumee Valley Country Day School. Students who choose this option are able to develop and further pursue the research questions they developed during the course and have the potential to design and publish actual results of their studies based on their research
Maumee Valley Country Day School is the only PreK-12th grade accredited, co-educational, and independent school in Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.
