5-Day Immersion Course
The Principles and Practice of Clinical Research 5-Day immersion course will be held from November 6th to November 10th, 2023.
The 5-Day Immersion Course will host six Harvard professors who will review and discuss material presented throughout the year of the 2023 PPCR course in a detailed and intensive fashion. One important part of the 5-Day Immersion Course is that students will review their group projects and specific questions related to their own research with the Harvard faculty. This 5-Day Immersion Course is an important component and is intended to give students hands on experience in clinical trials design and analysis. Students will also present their year-long work to the entire group after discussion with faculty. Note: These dates are tentative and are subject to change.
What to expect
The 5-Day Immersion Course will offer lectures, small group discussions, individual office hours, manuscript/grant writing classes and practical exercises. Students will review their group projects and work towards an oral or poster presentation. The goal of the live course component is to allow students to interact directly with Harvard faculty, discuss specifically their questions as they relate to the course, their project or their own research and to give them an opportunity to practice the acquired knowledge.
Format
This 5-Day Immersion Course is a live on-site program. Harvard faculty will give live lectures and offer office hours. Participants are also required to participate in group discussions and complete practical exercises. Participants will also work on their group project and present it during the course.
Overview
Who should attend
Students who enroll in the 2023 Principles and Practice Clinical Research main course component are highly encouraged to also participate in the 5-Day course. The course offers an opportunity to interact with Harvard faculty in a one-to-one relationship and to discuss topics in small groups. The 5-Day on-site course is an extension to the PPCR main course component and will focus on those skills required for a scientist in his daily life: Designing a research project, statistics, writing skills, presentation.
Students who have previously completed the PPCR course are also eligible to attend; however, priority is given to current PPCR students.
Investment in the future
During the 5-Day on-site course students will closely interact with Harvard faculty but also with clinical researchers from different countries and different fields. The goal of this program is to promote personal and professional growth and to make clinical researchers more effective in their work. This course should be the first step in becoming an independent research scientist. We also expect that the interactive environment of this program will promote connections among participants and therefore foster future collaborative multicenter projects.
Program content
The 5-Day on-site course will review and expand on some parts of the PPCR course (including statistics). The group project will be a key component, which will include discussion and presentation. Additionally, there will be a manuscript/grant writing workshop, manuscript review workshop and additional lectures relevant to working as a research scientist.
Program Schedule
This is the 2023 course program (subject to change).
Day 1 - MONDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2023
02:00-03:00pm Registration
04:00-05:15pm Introduction – Felipe Fregni
05:15-06:00pm Bias - Lotfi Merabet
06:00-06:45pm Case Discussion on Pragmatic Trials: Going beyond observational studies and randomized clinical trials - Felipe Fregni
06:45-08:00pm Small Group Discussion
Day 2 - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2023
Group Project – Design, Regulatory and Management Issues
08:00-08:45am Lecture - Special Topic I – Leslie Kalish
08:45-12:00pm Small Group Discussions
12:00-04:00pm Break
02:00-04:00pm Individual Office Hours with Speakers (Optional)
02:00-03:00pm Statistics Walk-in Office Hours - Clarissa Valim & Armando Teixeira-Pinto (Optional)
03:00-04:00pm After PPCR: Follow-up Educational Programs (Optional)
04:00-05:00pm Small Group Discussion
05:00-08:00pm Manuscript Writing Workshop - Part I - Donald Halstead
Day 3 - WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2023
Group Project Workshop – Statistical Review
08:00-08:45am Lecture - Special Topic II – Janis Breeze
08:45-12:00pm Small Group Discussion
12:00-04:00pm Break
12:00-04:00pm Special Statistical Office Hours with Armando Teixeira-Pinto: Data analysis, data interpretation and other statistical questions
02:00-04:00pm Individual Office Hours with Speakers (optional)
03:00-04:00pm Meeting for 2016 participants interested in being PPCR 2022 TAs
04:00-08:00pm Manuscript Writing Workshop - Part II - Donald Halstead
Day 4 - THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2023
08:00-08:45am Lecture - Special Topic III - Ben Illigens & Ingeborg Friehs
08:45-12:00pm Small Group Discussion
12:00-03:00pm Break
02:00-03:00pm Individual Office Hours with Speakers (Optional)
03:00-06:00pm Manuscript Writing Workshop - Part III - Donald Halstead
06:00-08:30pm Break
08:30-12:00am Celebration and Awards
Day 5 - FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2023
Manuscript Submission and Post-Submission
08:00-11:00am Final Group Project Presentations - Final grading
11:00-11:45am Practical Exercise and wrap-up - Felipe Fregni
11:45-12:00pm Closing Remarks - Faculty members
Faculty members
Felipe Fregni, MD, PhD, MPH, MEd
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Associate Professor of PM&R, Harvard Medical School
Director, Clinical Trials Network, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Professor of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Harvard Medical School Professor of Epidemiology Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Donald Halstead
Lecturer on Epidemiology and Director of Writing Programs Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Janis Breeze, MPH
Associate Director Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Research Design Center Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Tufts Medical Center
Ingeborg Friehs, MD
Instructor in Surgery Cardiac Surgery Adebona Account Boston Children’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School.
David Wypij, PhD
Associate Professor of Pediatrics Harvard Medical School -Senior Lecturer on Biostatistics Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health -Director of the Statistics and Data Coordinating Center Department of Cardiology Boston Children’s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts
Armando Teixeira-Pinto, PhD
Senior Lecturer & Senior Research Fellow Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney
Manuel Alejandro Castillo Angeles, MD, MPH
Postdoctoral Research Fellow Department of Surgery Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Farzad D. Noubary, PhD
Associate Clinical Professor Department of Health Sciences
Sandra Ribeiro de Carvalho, PhD
University of Minho Braga
António Jorge da Costa Leite
Director of the Portucalense Institute for Human Development Universidade Portucalense