Fellowship

Primary Care Research Fellowship

Join the next generation of researchers making an impact on broad areas of primary care including focused training on health disparities, overdose, substance use and mental health

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Family and Community Medicine

Program Overview

Eligibility – MD, DO, PhD or other terminal doctoral degree in biomedicine.
The Primary Care Research Fellowship is a two-year training program with multidisciplinary mentors across Penn State, including different colleges, institutes and campuses. Fellows’ training and research can span traditional primary care topics, or focus on health disparities, substance use and mental health.
Fellows have an individually tailored training program with access to a vast array of coursework, certificate and degree programs; mentored research experiences across numerous departments, schools and institutes; and a collegial research-oriented institutional and departmental culture.
Federal funds provide for stipends, tuition and other training and research-related expenses.

Training Elements

Members of the Primary Care Research Fellowship meet around a conference table

Training Elements

The fellowship’s curriculum is based on the three pillars of the learning environment:

Mentored interdisciplinary translational research
Individualized coursework, certificates and degrees, including:
- Certificates/master's programs in clinical, translational, qualitative, several statistical/AI, machine learning programs
Tailored seminar series, including:
- Grant writing, including K and R level grants
- Research design methodologies
- Manuscript development
- Team and Translational science
- Preparing conference presentations
- Dissemination of research

Planning for individualized training begins during the interview/hiring process, with discussion of optimal coursework, research questions and content mentors. The overall development plan and mentorship groups, including peer and near-peers, are finalized early in Year 1.

Fellows begin research activities immediately. Ongoing bi-directional mentorship review facilitates each fellow’s career progress and productive mentor-mentee collaboration. The focus is on deliverables, including abstracts, conference presentations, manuscripts and grant proposals.

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Fellows have access to a wealth of resources and potential collaborators throughout Penn State's institutions and affiliations.

Professional development programs
- Grants Academy
- Graduate services
Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
- Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Research Design (BERD)
- Implementation science
- Regulatory training
- Translational science seminars
Harrell Health Sciences Library
- Literature review
- Author tools
- Individual research help with a librarian

The Penn State Primary Care Research Fellowship (PCRF) provides an exceptional research training opportunity for postgraduate learners who wish to receive training in primary care research and address some of the most pressing problems in public health and health care, including substance use, mental health disorders and socioeconomic disparities.

The catchment area for Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Health includes rural, suburban and urban communities and is diverse in age, race and ethnicity, disability, economic and educational status and health disparities, compared to state and national averages. Urban centers (Reading, Harrisburg, Lancaster and Lebanon) are more diverse, with less favorable health profiles than the counties in which they are located. This area includes part of Appalachia, a region with well-documented poverty and health disparities that spans 420 mostly-rural counties in 13 states, including 52 of Pennsylvania’s 67 counties.

Among the most alarming recent national trends is the increase in mortality due to opioid overdose, substance use and use disorders (SUD) and mental health disorders (MHD). Termed “diseases or deaths of despair,” they have disproportionately affected Appalachia and Pennsylvania.
The fellowship emphasizes strategic priorities of health equity, disease prevention and health promotion and community health in developing primary care researchers who will address priorities of ending the crises of overdose, SUD and MHD.

The fellowship is led by experienced clinician-scientists in , General Internal Medicine and General Pediatrics, in collaboration with partners from the broader Penn State community, with faculty from diverse backgrounds and disciplines who bring varied perspectives to the investigation of complex problems. The rigorous program is guided by leading-edge concepts of active mentorship, experiential learning, diversity, equity and inclusion, translational research and team science.

Eligible candidates will have an MD/DO/PhD or equivalent terminal degrees from a wide range of disciplines, including medicine, pharmacy, nursing, psychology or the social sciences. Eligibility includes being a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Direct any inquiries related to the application process to:

Holly-Mae Carver
Education Program Coordinator
Penn State College of Medicine
Department of Family & Community Medicine

Email: PCRF@pennstatehealth.psu.edu