GME-AHEAD Research Training Program

1. Trainees will gain an understanding of the clinical research process, described in the CITI micro-course “Medical Residents and Fellows: Basic Principles of Research.”
2. Trainees will acquire the vocabulary and conceptual knowledge to discuss research and work effectively with a collaborative research team that includes mentors, methodologists and biostatisticians. 
3. Trainees will learn to summarize literature in a scientific literature review, providing the context necessary for a new study.
4. Trainees will learn the formal process of study design by creating a workflow, creating a timeline, writing research questions in the PI(E)COT format that follow the FINER criteria, organizing study design elements and operationalizing pertinent study variables and concepts.
5. Trainees will learn to interpret research outputs from the perspective of a clinician and accurately present findings to other clinicians. 

AHEAD helps trainees select the data source that best answers their research question. Trainees will be encouraged to use the SLU/SSM Virtual Data Warehouse or the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project data, with exceptions. These data sources offer a unique opportunity to answer clinically relevant questions using large, de-identified, research-ready databases.

SLU/SSM Virtual Data Warehouse

The SLU/SSM Virtual Data Warehouse (VDW) captures de-identified electronic health records of more than 5 million patients within the SSM Healthcare System.

• Regions: Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin.
• Birth to age > 90 years.
• Ambulatory and inpatient data.
• 2008 - Present.
• Ideal alternative to identifiable Epic data.

Virtual Data Warehouse Summary

The VDW variables include ICD-9 and ICD-10 diagnostic codes; current procedural terminology (CPT), ICD-9-PCS and ICD-10-PCS procedure codes; prescription orders; laboratory orders and results; vital signs; provider and clinic type; and demographics. VDW usage requires a data use agreement and a data request. If you have questions, please email joanne.salas@health.slu.edu.  

Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project

The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) captures de-identified electronic health records from non-federal hospitals in the United States.

• The largest collection of longitudinal hospital care data in the United States.
• Ideal for developing national and regional estimates of inpatient utilization, access, cost, quality and outcomes.
• Includes the following datasets:
  • Nationwide Inpatient Sample: 1998-2017 ( approximately 7 million hospital stays).
  • Kids’ Inpatient Database: 1997-2016 (approximately 3 million pediatric discharges).
  • Nationwide Emergency Department Sample: 2003-2017 (approximately 33.5 million ED visits).
  • Nationwide Re-admissions Database: 2016-2019 (approximately18 million discharges).

HCUP usage requires a data use agreement and a data request. If you have questions, please email timothy.chrusciel@health.slu.edu.

Exceptions: The VDW and HCUP are well-suited for research across all medical specialties. Joanne Salas will review and approve exceptions to the use of other data sources and methodologies, given the scope of the project and the overall goals of the educational requirement.

All GME-AHEAD projects begin with an application. Following the approval of an application by the Office of Graduate Medical Education, trainees meet monthly with Joanne Salas to strengthen their research skills through exercises and assignments. Once the project design is established, an AHEAD biostatistician executes the project. At the project’s conclusion, the biostatistician and Joanne Salas provide a preliminary interpretation of results.

AHEAD personnel scope projects to satisfy trainees' educational requirements for research. Submission of results as conference abstracts and posters will be encouraged, if applicable. Any extension of scope beyond what is required for the GME educational research requirement or additional in-depth analyses for a manuscript are beyond the scope of this program. Project timelines vary and are subject to change. The typical GME-AHEAD project requires six months to complete.

• Angela Gallardo, D.O., pediatrics: "Implementation of an anxiety screening tool in a general academic pediatric clinic"
• Barbara Okeke, M.D., Ph.D., internal medicine: "Adverse cardiovascular events in patients with known cardiovascular disease that live in food deserts"
• George Thieroff, M.D., rheumatology: “Screening for latent infection in biologic or targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug naïve patients”
• Georgeanne Cornell, D.O., dermatology: "The appropriateness of direct immunofluorescence use in dermatology"
• Hanan Qaqish, M.D., neurology: “Teaching cards”
• Justine Keller, M.D., obstetrics and gynecology: “Predictors of maternal and neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with substance use disorder”
• Katelyn Dugan, M.D., dermatology: "Investigating cosmetic outcomes in purse-string of upper triangle cutaneous lip defects"
• Lanerica Rogers, D.O., internal medicine: "Getting down with the heart failure guidelines: an assessment of the implementation of the American Heart Association heart failure guidelines in the Midwest"
• Laura Russell, M.D., dermatology: "Langerhans cells and a tool to distinguish chronis eczematous dermatitis and psoriasis"
• Madeline Suppiger, M.D., obstetrics and gynecology: "Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccination patterns in pregnancy"
• Margaret Lang, M.D., pediatrics: “A review of escalation of care for pediatric admissions”
• Nasro Isaq, M.D., dermatology: "Chlorhexidine 4% wash: a prophylactic measure for lower extremity surgical site infections following Mohs surgery"
• Nehemias Guevara-Rodriguez, M.D., internal medicine: "Evaluating vaping as a risk factor for lung cancer using NHANES data"
• Shivang Chaudhary, M.D., internal medicine: "Retrospective cohort study of inpatient rheumatology consultations at Saint Louis University Hospital: a single center analysis”
• Sumrah Khan, D.O., internal medicine: "Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) in the community: real-world evidence and insights from a rare illness in the tertiary university system"
• Zachary Stanley, M.D., maternal fetal medicine: "Maternal cytokine production and fetal congenital heart defects"

• Adam Streicher, M.D., internal medicine: "Can a five-digit number be linked to health outcomes: the impact of zip-code and insurance status on 30-day re-admission rates at Saint Louis University Hospital"
• Michelle Petrich, M.D., maternal fetal medicine: "Predictors of maternal and neonatal outcomes among pregnant women with substance use disorder"
• Peter Chow, M.D., dermatology: "Demographics of dermatopathology fellowship applicant interviewees: a single institution descriptive analysis"
• Sheetal Sethupathi, M.D., dermatology: "Assessing the efficacy of a novel cosmeceuticals educational pamphlet in improving patient education and skincare practices"