Research Education
The Children’s Mercy Research Institute (CMRI) offers several research education opportunities for healthcare professionals, researchers, and students.
Professional training opportunities
The Children's Mercy Center for Bioethics offers a nine-month pediatric bioethics certificate program. Students will become knowledgeable in pediatric bioethical issues such as the role of ethics committees, ethics consultations, futility and moral distress, end-of-life decisions, research ethics, and much more.
Click here for more information on the Certificate Program in Pediatric Bioethics!
June 10-13, 2024 (Hybrid Event)
The Children's Mercy Kansas City Genomic Medicine Center, with support of the NIH, offers a four-day CME/CEU program in translational genomics. Next generation sequencing has had a profound impact on biomedical research. Clinicians and scientists seeking to stay abreast of the field may be challenged by the rapid rate of genomic discovery and technologic advancement.
Topics include:
- Technical and analytic aspects of DNA and RNA
- Variant analysis
- Gene regulation and epigenetics
- Polygenic Risk Scores
- Clinical and ethical implications of genomics
The course is designed for clinician-scientists and researchers who want to gain a deeper understanding of genomics and its applications in basic and clinical studies.
Click here for more information on the Genomic Medicine Short Course and to register.
Fellows in this one-year program will participate in all clinical, educational, and research activities of the Bioethics Center at Children’s Mercy. They will also complete a mentored research project on a topic of their choice in pediatric bioethics.
Click here for more information on the Pediatric Ethics Fellowship!
The Translational Research Seminar Series highlights research from Kansas City area institutions. These seminars are intended to provide an avenue for meaningful discussions and collaborations that move foundational science discoveries into practice more quickly and efficiently for the benefit of human health. Held during the academic year, the seminars are co-organized and attended by researchers from the Stowers Institute, Children’s Mercy, the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
- The Translational Research Seminar Series is open to attendees from Children’s Mercy, the University of Kansas Medical Center, and the University of Missouri – Kansas City.
Click here for more information about the Translational Research Seminar Series.
Employee-only education and required training
The essence of the Berry Institute is a direct reflection of the pioneering spirit and servant hearts of our founders, the Berry sisters. The Berry Institute is a unique, innovative, and collaborative experience designed to develop all employees as leaders and improvement specialists. Upon engagement, you will experience the connections, tools, and development opportunities you crave to thrive at work, home, and in the community.
If you are a current employee, please click here to learn more about the Berry Institute on The Scope.
This 4-track, monthly seminar series rotates between Research and Sponsored Projects Administration, the Office of Research Integrity, Research Compliance, and other topics related to research method/design/support.
If you are a current employee, please click here to view the CRISP Seminar Series on The Scope.
The ORI Fellowship Program is a three-month introductory training opportunity designed to provide core knowledge for participants to become successful researchers and Principal Investigators for human subject studies. ORI Fellows receive theoretical and practical application training related to IRB and Research Quality Monitoring Program work processes. The expectation is that ORI Fellows will become champions for quality human subject research in their respective departments and clinical settings.
If you are a current employee, please click here to view the ORI Fellowship Program on The Scope.
Those who engage in research activities at Children’s Mercy must complete training per the Research Education Program based on their role on a project, funding source and study type. Training may include completing modules within the Cornerstone learning management system, the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) under the Children’s Mercy-Kansas City institutional affiliation and live workshop/classroom experiences.
If you are a current employee, please click here to view the Research Education Program on The Scope.
The Research Learning Center is a resource for faculty, clinical fellows, and postdoctoral fellows to facilitate development and growth of their scholarly activities. The center focuses on developing skills for clear writing and public speaking, as well as academic career mentoring. Communication skills are concentrated on writing clear and understandable grant applications, manuscripts, and abstract submissions to conferences, as well as delivering clear and understandable oral presentations. Guidance and contacts are provided to demystify the grant application process. These efforts are accomplished through the month Writing Club, twice-yearly Grant Writing Retreat, and mentoring.
If you are a current employee, please click here to view the Research Learning Center on The Scope.
Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training is intended to satisfy certain National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding requirements and improve the quality of research conducted at CMKC. Podium or Panel workshop presentations are offered at least 6 times per year on subject matter pertaining to RCR subject matter as outlined by the NIH:
- conflict of interest personal, professional, and financial and conflict of commitment, in allocating time, effort, or other research resources
- policies regarding human subjects, live vertebrate animal subjects in research, and safe laboratory practices
- mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships
- safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment)
- collaborative research, including collaborations with industry and investigators and institutions in other countries
- peer review, including the responsibility for maintaining confidentiality and security in peer review
- data acquisition and analysis; laboratory tools (e.g., tools for analyzing data and creating or working with digital images); recordkeeping practices, including methods such as electronic laboratory notebooks
- secure and ethical data use; data confidentiality, management, sharing, and ownership
- research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct
- responsible authorship and publication
- the scientist as a responsible member of society, contemporary ethical issues in biomedical research, and the environmental and societal impacts of scientific research
If you are a current employee, please click here to view the Responsible Conduct of Research Workshops on The Scope.
Student opportunities
Undergraduate, graduate and professional students interested in working with Children’s Mercy researchers are invited to submit their information into our portal to be matched with our faculty.
The Summer Training in Academic Research (STAR) 2.0 Program provides a hands-on, high-quality research experience during the summer academic break for high school students and educators.
During the 6-week program participants get the chance to:
- Work with Children’s Mercy faculty on an original research project.
- Develop a research publication for submission in a peer-reviewed journal.
- Learn about clinical and translational research methodology, writing, statistics, medical ethics, and career development.
- Network and learn with other students/educators from across the country.
The Children’s Mercy Research Summer Scholars Program has been ongoing since 1994, with over 162 student scholars mentored to date. The program is designed to provide students with a structured research experience under your mentorship, by participating in a hypothesis-driven research project, which means the experience could be one in the laboratory or assisting with data analysis. This program is primarily aimed at students who have completed at least two years of undergraduate education and have an interest in pursuing further education in research. The program duration is approximately 10-12 weeks and selected students will be hired through the Children's Mercy Human Resources department.
Applications for the 2024 program are being accepted until Feb. 26, 2024. Click the link below to learn more and access the application link.
Click here for more information about the Research Summer Scholars Program!
A real-world learning opportunity for high school students to decode the DNA sequences displayed on the outside windows of the CMRI. Students will decipher the DNA sequences to determine what gene variants are represented that were discovered in patients at Children’s Mercy. They can even take the investigation a step further to identify how the gene variants may change treatment for the patient.
Click here for more information on the Student DNA Decoding Challenge!