The latest cohort of young researchers got a head start on learning the skills necessary to build a future in research over the summer, as they completed the Duke STAR program in August, 2022.
They represented the eighth class of participants over as many years for the Duke Clinical Research Institute’s Summer Training in Academic Research (STAR) program, which instills a passion for research at an early age and builds investigatory skills for promising young scientists.
The Duke Summer Training in Academic Research (STAR) Program runs eight weeks each summer and provides research experience to approximately 25 undergraduate students, high school students, and middle and high school teachers. Danny Benjamin, MD, PhD, MPH and Kanecia Zimmerman, MD, MPH lead the innovative program, which is held at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI). STAR participants are matched with Duke faculty mentors to develop hypothesis-driven projects that culminate with complete research papers submitted to peer-reviewed journals.Eba Moreda, a junior at Green Hope High School in Cary, NC, said he has always been interested in science and medicine, and he applied to the STAR Program for hands-on experience in research methodology and writing. Moreda said the program expanded his knowledge of different career paths for those interested in research.
“There’s not one strict way, [and] people come from all places and areas of study…You don’t necessarily have to go the same route as everyone else,” Moreda said. Through his group’s project, Moreda also said he discovered a newfound interest in statistics and gained helpful skills in the areas of writing and research ethics.
Moreda and his group utilized data from the ABC Science Collaborative to research if schools’ COVID-19 data could bridge the gap formed by at-home testing in community COVID-19 data. Even with reporting structure in place, they found that the number of COVID-19 cases reported remained low. However, to reduce the gap in data, they suggested incentivizing reporting. Moreda’s group believes that, with increased reporting, schools’ data may be able to help in future public health emergencies.
Ogugua “OG” Nwaezeigwe is a junior at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill (UNC), majoring in Neuroscience and minoring in Entrepreneurship and Spanish for the Medical Professions. Her group’s research project focused on the prevalence and characteristics of COVID-19 in hospitalized infants. Through their research, they found that the prevalence of COVID-19 was low in hospitalized infants. They also learned that most infants tested negative despite their birth parent’s positive status. Nwaezeigwe’s group ultimately observed that COVID-19 is not necessarily associated with elevated mortality rates in hospitalized infants.
While researching this topic, Nwaezeigwe said she learned the value of working within a team and how to engage each team member’s strengths. She also got the chance to develop her research writing skills, and, reinforcing the importance of accessibility and honesty, she said, “As researchers, our main goal is to have honesty in what we’re presenting and how it can contribute in advancing medical knowledge.”
Natalie Rodriguez, a sophomore at UNC planning to major in biostatistics, worked with her group to research student school absenteeism as a marker for community COVID-19 transmission rates in North Carolina. They found a statistically significant correlation between these two data points, concluding that school absenteeism can be used as a marker for COVID-19 transmission rates. In addition, Rodriguez’s group examined the correlation between school absenteeism and the percentage of the student population below the poverty line; however, they were not able to find a statistically significant correlation given the available data.
While developing this research with her group, Rodriguez learned how to skillfully apply her leadership abilities and manage project deadlines, and learn new skills in the process. Rodriguez noted, “To be [in] more of a leadership role in my group, but learn the same things at the same time, definitely showed me another side of my leadership capabilities.”
Pavan Thakkar, a junior at Providence Day School in Charlotte, NC, and his group used DCRI data to develop their research project looking at whether certain medications that pregnant parents or newborns take contribute to those infants developing gastrointestinal disorders. Through their research, Thakkar’s group found that certain factors and medications increased the risk of infants developing these disorders, including gestational age, weight loss, magnesium and steroids taken by the pregnant parent, and indomethacin and hydrocortisone given after birth. The group worked to confirm previous research and provide insight into the identification, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal disorders in infants.
During this project, Thakkar gained hands-on experience in scientific writing, statistics, and, most importantly, teamwork.
“I’ve learned that I really enjoy doing research,” he said, “but I’ve also learned how much I value being part of a collaborative team and how important collaboration is in creating results and outcomes that are better than what they would be if it was just one person doing it.”
In his closing remarks, Benjamin let each of the STAR Program participants know they had done incredible work.
“What I want you to do…is to have excellence,” Benjamin said, adding that participants demonstrated their excellence as they learned about research methodology, writing, statistics, leadership, teamwork, and even more about importance of clinical research.
Learn more about the Duke STAR Program.
