Research Experience

The Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology is committed to bringing leading-edge basic and applied research and innovation to patient care. Integral to this mission is to give residents and fellows in our training programs an impactful research experience. Research opportunities in cancer biology, immunology, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, renal disease and diabetes are outlined here.

Residents can choose to pursue a physician-scientist track while being mentored by research faculty in either AP or CP or basic science faculty. Residents in this track tend to be either straight AP or straight CP resident; some would have a PhD. Residents on the physician-scientist track may wish to incorporate the six months of research allowed in the regular residency with a year of research following the residency and before starting fellowship. The department will guarantee funding for this additional year of research even if training grant funding cannot be obtained.

The resident's research proposal needs to be submitted in writing for review and approval by the department. The research time can also be taken before finishing residency training as well as after training is completed. Our goal is to be flexible in how we accommodate a substantial research experience for residents.

Application Details

Applications need to include: a research proposal (see below), CV, and a letter of support from faculty member mentoring the resident’s research project, and IRB submission where appropriate. Send proposals to: Patricia Ferrieri, M.D., ferri002@umn.edu

Full-proposals should contain:

  • Project Title

  • Abstract (1/2 page maximum)

  • Statement of overall objective and anticipated deliverable

  • Specific Aims

  • Study/Experimental Design

  • Expected Outcome

  • Time Line

  • Literature Cited

  • Detailed Budget Page with Brief Justification


Formatting: 12 point Times/Times New Roman, single-spaced, 0.5 inch minimum margins
Page limitation of 2 pages excludes references and budget pages.