Research and Scholarly Activity Strategic Plan

Institutional Mission: The mission of the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) is to educate students from diverse backgrounds as lifelong learners in osteopathic medicine and complementary health related programs; to support and develop graduate medical education training; to advance scientific knowledge through academic, clinical and basic science research; and to promote patient-centered, evidence based medicine. WVSOM is dedicated to serve, first and foremost, the state of West Virginia and the health care needs of its residents, emphasizing primary care in rural areas.

WVSOM is committed to engaging students, faculty, and staff in research and scholarly activity. As an institution, whose mission is to educate lifelong learners, WVSOM provides research and scholarly activity experiences for students, and maintains a program of professional development for faculty and staff as a means to meet the mission of lifelong learning.

As part of WVSOM’s Institutional Strategic plan for the next 5 years, WVSOM’s Research and Scholarly Activity (R&SA) 5-year strategic plan was developed to meet the overarching Institutional strategic plan goals.

There are three specific goals for research in the Institutional strategic plan, described below, and strategies for how to achieve those goals. The development of the R&SA Strategic Plan for 2020-2025 was facilitated by the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs (ORSP) and began with input provided during the Institutional strategic planning meeting on March 9, 2019. Input was further gathered from faculty and staff. The Faculty Research Committee and ORSP worked to draft the R&SA Strategic Plan which was provided broadly to all faculty and various stakeholders (e.g., Office Business Affairs, Marketing and Communications, General Counsel's Office, Admissions, Alumni Association, Information Technology) for additional input. The plan was approved by the Faculty Research Committee, Faculty Assembly and WVSOM administration.

Advance medical knowledge through biomedical, translational, clinical, and educational research

  1. Foster climate that promotes intellectual curiosity and continued professional development
  2. Provide internal funding, support for research projects and technician support
  3. Support R&SA productivity through protected time and professional development resources

Maximize sponsored program funding and sources

  1. Market availability of discretionary funds available for scholarly activity by faculty for preliminary work necessary to attract external support
  2. Increase incentives to apply for extramural support
  3. Raise awareness about R&SA through the WVSOM Foundation and WVSOM Alumni Association and exploring outside sources of funding

Explore initiatives to enrich the research environment and foster productivity

  1. Continue to build research environment by supporting collaborations with other investigators/institutions both within West Virginia and outside of West Virginia
  2. Explore opportunities with partners like the Center for Community and Rural Health, WVSOM Foundation and WVSOM Alumni Association to collaborate on research and scholarly activities
  3. Begin development of a Research Corporation
  4. Evaluate research facility needs and plan for new facilities and modernization of existing research space
  5. Explore development of a research faculty track
  6. Explore development of a focused area of R&SA

In addition, the Research and Scholarly Activity Strategic plan includes the following goal and strategies, which are designed to meet additional goals in the Institutional Strategic plan related to Educational Excellence, GME, Community Outreach and Reputation.

Promote and provide curricular and co-curricular research and scholarly activity opportunities to students and residents

  1. Ensure academic content (e.g. EBM, Clinical Ethics, and Osteopathic Research) is current and appropriate
  2. Promote research and scholarly activity electives
  3. Explore the development of a thesis-based track
  4. Continue to ensure R&SA is represented as part of faculty and staff recruitment activities
  5. Continue to provide R&SA resources to the MSOPTI & GME, including opportunities for presentation
  6. Continue to provide content to Marketing and Communications in order to promote research and scholarly activities