EUC School of Medicine Medical Degree Project

Background Description

The presentation of a Medical Project or Medical Thesis has been one of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Medicine at several medical schools.  It is not currently a requirement at EUC.  In the beginning of the process, case reports and literature reviews predominate, but as the scientific method begins to find its place in medicine, we will be able to require that each Project or Thesis be based on original investigation, either in the laboratory or in the clinic.  This experience can be considered a critical part of the curriculum, as it promotes the development of critical judgment, independent study, in addition to in-depth acquisition of new medical knowledge and research skills.

At present, EUC will offer students the ability to complete a Medical Degree Project (M.D. Project).  With the revision of the clinical curriculum, we will consider the possibility of including the Medical Degree Thesis (M.D. Thesis) as a requirement for the M.D. degree.   The aim of the M.D. project at EUC is to teach students how to understand the scientific method, how to design a research project, how to collect and evaluate data and communicate findings to others, how to think scientifically and critically.

The aim of the “M.D. Project” (or in the future the M.D. Thesis) is to engage EUC Medical Students in research during medical school.  A wide choice of subjects for research will be permitted, and students may choose from projects in basic laboratories or they may choose to do clinical, epidemiologic or sociologic investigations.  The fundamental requirement of all projects is that there must be a specific hypothesis that can be supported or rejected by new data that is generated by the student.  Data must be subjected to statistical analysis and findings must either confirm or reject the original project.  In this regard, publications in the literature may serve as the source of data for the research (e.g. systematic review or meta-analysis)

Requirements:

Students interested in doing a M.D. Project are required to take at least one elective on research methods, preferable two (e.g. Research Methods-RES303, Project Class ΗΕΑ 4, Final year project II, BMS421, MED604 Research Methodology & Scientific Writing)

The project must be based upon original, scholarly and creative work.  The project topic is to be chosen with the advice of a member of the Faculty, who agrees to act as the project supervisor.  The project supervisor will supervise the research and mentor the student, provide a supportive research environment, and evaluate the student’s various submissions, including the proposal and final project document.  The research supervisor is chosen by the student and must be a faculty member of EUC and needs no further approval. Should the student wish to work with an outside collaborator, a Faculty member must also serve as co-supervisor.

 

Guidelines for the EUC M.D Project

1).  A project proposal is required to present:

  • Specific aims (1 page)
  • Research strategy (6 pages)
  • Significance (1 page).

2). A student’s research project is presented as a formal bound report during the graduating year.  The M.D. project must fulfill the following minimal requirements (in order for final submission of bound copy):

3).  Two basic requirements apply to all project research projects:

  • There must be a specific project that can be supported or rejected by new data that are generated by the student. Data must be subjected to statistical analysis and results should either confirm or reject the original project.
  • The research supervisors should be a full-time faculty member at the School of Medicine or at a clinical hospital

4).  A close working relationship between the student and faculty research supervisor is a major goal of this project program and is strongly encouraged.  When laboratory research is performed, it is the responsibility of the faculty supervisors to provide all necessary space, equipment and supplies. If the project is concerned with clinical or epidemiological investigation, the same commitment to guidance and support is expected.  Weekly meetings between student and supervisors are encouraged during the course of the research activity.  The research must be designed and specifically performed by the student with the advice of the faculty supervisors.

Required Components of the Formal M.D. Project

Length-   Most standard M.D. theses average 40-80 pages of text.  A minimum of 30 pages of text excluding figures, legends, and references is required.

  1. Title – Title should not exceed 100 characters including spaces between words
  2. Table of Contents, with page numbers for each section.
  3. Abstract: A short summary of the back ground and should also have a short description of the method used, overall result and a conclusion. (Max 300 words)
  1. Acknowledgements (personal and faculty acknowledgements, grant support, departmental support, etc.).
  1. Introduction (a thorough, complete, detailed and relevant review of the literature is required).
  2. Statement of purpose specific hypothesis and specific aims of the project.
  3. Methods – Please Note: Give details of all methods used. Describe in detail exactly which procedures, methods and experiments were conducted by you and which procedures, methods and experiments, generation of data, or production of reagents, were performed by others.  It is not sufficient to state that this information may be mentioned elsewhere.  It must be summarized here. It is recognized that students may often be completing a portion of a larger work.  A statement detailing precisely what was done by the student and what was done by others does not detract from the project, but is necessary for academic honesty.
  1. Results – All primary data related to the project topic should be presented with the important data given in figures or tables. If preferred, figures and tables should be included in this section and should be explained in the detail in the text.  Tables and figures can be presented separately after the discussion but, if possible, it is advantageous to the reader to include tables in the body of the results section (as in a manuscript).  All data should include the number of observations, and mean values ±E.M. or ± S.D.
  1. Discussion. (Thorough and detailed interpretation and analysis of data and reference to and analysis of other literature.)
  1. References – We strongly recommend the use of Endnote for formulating the references. Indicate references in the text by sequential numbers in parentheses (do not use subscript).  In the Reference section, list references numbered in the order in which they appear in the text in the format shown below (note that the initials of the authors always follow the surnames, and that there should be no space between more than one initial).  Include all authors’ names up to 5 authors (use et al. after the 5th author) and complete article titles.  Indicate articles that are in press following the journal name.

Abbreviate the names of journals according to Pub Med or BIOSIS Database.  Spell out names of unlisted journals.  Supply inclusive page numbers.  Submitted manuscripts, manuscripts in preparation, unpublished observations, personal communications, and preliminary report citations must appear parenthetically in the text.  They should not appear in the Reference section.  See examples below:

Journal style guides and Endnote style files for the Journal of Clinical Investigation and New England Journal of Medicine – are also acceptable.

Journal Articles

  1. Yalow, R.S., and Berson, S.A. 1960. Immunoassay of endogenous plasma insulin in man. J. Clin. Invest. 39:1157-1175.

In Press

  1. Gardner, W., and Schultz, H.D. 1990. Prostaglandins regulate the synproject and secretion of the atrial natriuretic peptide. J. Clin. Invest. In press.

Complete books

  1. Myant, N.B. 1981. The Biology of Cholesterol and Related Steriods. London: Heinemann Medical Books. 882 pp.

Articles in books

  1. Innerarity, T.L., Hui, D.Y., and Mahley, R.W. 1982. Hepatic apoprotein E (remnant) receptor. In Lipoproteins and Coronary Atherosclerosis. G. Noseda, S. Fragiacomo, R. Fumagalli, and R. Paoletti, editors. Amsterdam: Elsevier/North Holland. 173-181.

Abstracts

  1. Packman, C.H., Rosenfeld, S.I., and Leddy, J.P. 1981. Inhibition of the C8/C9 steps of complement lysis by a high density lipoprotein (HDL) of human serum. Fed. Proc. 40:967a. (Abstr.)
  1. Figure References and Legends. Figures must be cited sequentially in the text using Arabic numerals (for example, “Fig. 7”).  Provide a short title (in the legend, not on the figure itself) and explanation in sufficient detail to make the figure intelligible without reference to the text (unless a similar explanation has been given in another figure).  Provide a key to any symbols used.
  1. All tables should be double-spaced on manuscript pages.  Tables should be self-contained and self-explanatory.  Provide brief titles and use superscript capital letters starting from A and continuing in alphabetical order for footnotes.

 

Project Typing and Assembly Instructions

The final submission of the M.D. project should meet the following requirements:

Paper:  A4, 20 lb. weight paper of good quality (standard copy paper).  All pages must be a high-contrast, dark image on white paper.

Print Size:  Use a 10-12 point font.

Typing:  Double spaced on one side of the page.  Single spacing may be used within block quotations, footnotes, and bibliography, but double spacing must be used between successive entries.

Margins:  3.17cm left hand margin (normally, the binding edge), 3.17cm on the three other edges.  These margins apply to full-page photographs and pages containing tables and illustrations, as well as to pages of text.

Figures:  Ordinarily, photographs should be scanned and entered electronically into the text.  To mount photographs, use Duco or equivalent cement, rubber cement or “permanent” glue.  Regular glue, picture corners, and adhesive cellophane are not acceptable.  If charts, graphs, maps, tables, or computer printouts that are larger than the standard size are to be used, they should be folded carefully into the manuscript, with the fold at least 1.3 cm from the right hand edge of the page.

Figure Legends should be detailed and should be placed below the illustrative material.  A legend may appear, however, on a facing legend page when both illustration and the legend cannot be accommodated on one page.

Page Numbers:  Each page in the project should be numbered except the title page, table of contents, abstract, and acknowledgements.  The number should be placed either at the top center or at the top right hand corner at least 1.3 cm from any edge.

Submission of Project:

Dates:

  • Project proposals are due on or before November 1 of the final year.  (This will change upon revision of the program in the coming years)
  • Students will receive comments from the MD Project Committee within 4 weeks of the submission of the proposal
  • Project are due the last Monday in March of Year 6.
  • Students will be given specific project guidelines and a format to follow as indicated above
  1. Hard Bound Copies (3). The Office of Student Research requires one letter-quality printed original project with hard bound cover, dark blue, submitted to:
  2. One copy for Dean’s Office
  3. One copy for your advisor
  4. One copy for the EUC Library

The full project title, the student’s full name, “European University Cyprus”, and the year of degree are imprinted on the cover.  An abbreviated title, students name and year are imprinted on the spine.

  1. Digital Copy (1), Medicine Project Digital Library. The Office of Student Research also requires a copy of your project to be submitted to EUC Library.