Medical Education Scholarship & Research

Scholarly and research activity is central to accomplishing OCED's mission. We assist faculty in educational research questions, manuscript writing and publication, and grant proposals for curricular projects. We conduct educational research, consult on and participate in grant initiatives, serve on steering committees of national and regional organizations, and consult at other institutions.

Medical education is attracting more government and philanthropic support for research to develop innovative curricular programs and evaluate their outcomes. OCED can assist faculty in developing education program ideas, grant applications, and program implementation. Please contact us for information and assistance at any state in the development of an education project.

As in any other funding areas, success is based on finding the best fit between the funding organization and the proposed education program. We have compiled grant information on agencies and charitable foundations that support undergraduate medical education research. The listings contain brief details on the organization's undergraduate medical education aims to help you target funding sources for education research projects. We focus on agencies that may fund development of new curriculums, faculty development projects, or training programs. We do not focus on scholarships, research fellowship awards, or career training grants. Keep in mind that we summarize information on the current aims and awards for medical education research; however, some organizations may change their focus and funding priorities. Moreover, no guide can ever be complete. There are undoubtedly many more funding agencies. Our goal is to get you started thinking about possibilities and hope you will explore more opportunities. This guide, for instance, primarily covers agencies that fund medical education projects in general. There are foundations that fund curricular innovations in very specific fields (e.g., geriatrics education, nutritional science education, pediatrics curriculums, etc. Thus, it's worthwhile to consult with specialty organizations for information about specialized curriculums.

Funding databases and organization web sites or brochures can provide comprehensive information on each funding opportunity. The best strategy is to obtain current lists of announcement brochures from the organizations or agencies that have a close match with your interests to determine if their current focus is relevant to your project. Funding organizations welcome inquiries on their match with a proposed project so that they receive proposals that closely match their interests.

The following list provides possible information regarding grant opportunities and resource databases for faculty to explore:

AERA (American Educational Research Association) Grants Program
This program provides small grants, fellowships, and training for researchers conducting educational policy studies using quantitative methods. http://www.aera.net/grantsprogram/

Annual Register of Grant Support
Bowker's Annual Register is available as a bound volume in the Weill Cornell Medical Library. Grants can be searched using an index of funding areas. This version is most useful for seeking information if you know the name of a granting agency or foundation.

American Medical Colleges
Alpha Omega Alpha Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teaching Awards
Funds for $10,000 grants to recognize the significant contribution to medical education made by gifted teachers.  https://www.aamc.org/initiatives/awards/glaser/

The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation
Health Care Grant (Caring Attitudes)
Jacksonville, FL
Founds for curricular projects on communication skills, caring attitudes, compassionate care. http://www.publicsafetygrants.info/GrantDetails.aspx?gid=9596

Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, Higher Education and Continuing Education Programs
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) - Comprehensive Program
Washington, DC
Funds for training programs, teaching, curriculum development, program development, operating or general support-innovate reforms in curriculum and instruction of various kinds, especially through student-centered or technology-medicated strategies, more cost-effective ways of improving postsecondary instruction and operations, new ways of ensuring equal access to postsecondary education, retention and program completion, especially for under-represented students. https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/fipse/index.html

The Edward J. Stemmler Medical Education Research Fund of the National Board of Medical Examiners
This fund offers support for research or development of innovative assessment approaches that may enhance the assessment of those preparing to or continuing to practice medicine. A maximum grant of $70,000 may be granted for a project period up to two years. http://www.nbme.org/research/stemmler.html

Foundation for Advancement of International Education and Research (FAIMER)
International Fellowships in Medical Education
Philadelphia, PA
Funds for faculty from schools of medicine abroad to gain access to educational opportunities in the US. Fellows study aspects of medical education that have the potential to improve rand expand medical education programs in their home country institutions and departments. Eligible areas of study include educational methodology, curriculum design, and evaluation systems. Study may be conducted in departments of medical education or traditional disciplines of clinical or basic sciences. https://faimer.fluidreview.com

The Foundation Center

  • Foundation Directory, an annual bound volume of the directory, is available in the Weill Cornell Medical College Library. Grants can be searched using an index of funding areas. This version is most useful for seeking information if you know the name of a granting agency or foundation.
  • The Foundation Center is located at 79 Fifth Avenue at 14th Street. Use of their foundation database if free at this location. Call 212-620-4230 for hours.

Arnold P. Gold Foundation 
Funds for curricular programs involving humanism, ethics, compassion in medicine. http://www.gold-foundation.org

GrantsNet (US Dept of HHS)
To find and exchange information about 300 HHS and other Federal grant programs, this site serves the general public, the grantee community, and grant-makers. http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/funding

John A. Hartford Foundation, Inc.
Aging and Health Program, NY, NY
Funds for conferences and seminars and program development that enhances geriatric training, as well as age-friendly health systems, family caregiving, and serious illness and end of life. https://www.johnahartford.org/grants-strategy/

Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration
Bureau of Health Professions

Gaithersburg, MD
Funds for training programs - to meet the costs of projects to establish, maintain or improve academic administrative units to improved clinical instruction in family medicine, general internal medicine, and/or general pediatrics.  Grants also available to support nursing education, public health, oral health, behavioral health, geriatrics, and health careers to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.  https://bhw.hrsa.gov/grants

Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Potential Extramural Research Projects
Atlanta, GA
Funds for generally research projects, but curriculum development for preventative medicine projects of interest to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have received funding. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/oep/funding.html

Health and Human Services - National Institutes of Health
National Cancer Institute
Cancer Education and Career Development Program
Bethesda, NMD
Funds for develo0pment and implementation of curriculum dependent programs to train predoctoral and postdoctoral candidates in cancer research settings that are highly interdisciplinary and collaborative. https://www.cancer.gov/grants-training/training/at-nci

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
This foundation annually funds program development, faculty scholars, seed money, particularly in areas related to health services, chronic health care, and substance abuse. https://www.rwjf.org/en/how-we-work/grants-explorer/funding-opportunitie...

Kellogg Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good
Funds for support of research in any discipline that explores higher education’s role in serving the public good. https://www.aacu.org/diversitydigest/2003/vol7/no1-2

Emily Davis and Joseph S. Kornfeld Foundation
Brooklyn, NY
Funds for curricular development, program development, seed money in bioethics, end-of-life, palliative care, treatment of pain. http://fdnweb.org/kornfeld/

Larsen Fund
New York, NY
Funds curricular development, education research https://johnlarsenfoundation.wordpress.com/guidelines/

Josiah Macy (Jr.) Foundation
New York, NY
Funds program development, conferences, seminars, curriculum development http://macyfoundation.org

National Academy of Education Fellowship
New York, NY
Fellowship support to study matters relevant to improvement of education https://naeducation.org

National Board of Medical Examiners
Edward J. Stemmler, MD, Medical Education Research Fund
Philadelphia, PA
Funds research, training, curriculum, or program development http://www.nbme.org/research/stemmler.html

Rockefeller Foundation
This global foundation is committed to enriching and sustaining the lives and livelihoods of poor and excluded people throughout the world, using four “themes” around which they organize their grant making: food security, more equitable health outcomes, work opportunities, and creative expression opportunities. https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org/our-work/grants/

Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust

P.O. Box 1802

Providence, RI United States 02901-1802

Telephone: 888-866-3275

Funds medical school/education, seed money

Christopher D. Smithers Foundation
Funds program development, conferences, seminars, seed money in the field of alcoholism http://www.smithersfoundation.org/

Medical Education Journals

The following is a list of selected journals that specifically focus on the field of medical education and that accept submissions on educational research and innovations.

Medical Education and Health Professions Education Journals

Academic Medicine

Advances in Health Sciences Education

Advances in Medical Education and Practice

Advances in Physiology Education

BMC Medical Education

Canadian Medical Education Journal

Clinical Teacher

Education for Health: Change in Learning and Practice

Evaluation and the Health Professions

Focus on Health Professions Education

Health Professions Education

Journal of Cancer Education

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions

Journal of Graduate Medical Education

Journal of the International Association of Medical Science Educators

Journal of Surgical Education

Wiley Online Library Medical Education

Medical Education Development

Medical Education Online (MEO)

Medical Teacher

Pédagogie Médicale

Perspectives on Medical Education

Postgraduate Medical Journal

Simulation in Healthcare

Teaching and Learning in Medicine 

General Education Journals

Educational Researcher

Knowledge Management and E-Learning: An International Journal

McGill Journal of Education

New Directions for Teaching and Learning

Research in Higher Education

Research Journals

Health Research Policy and Systems

Qualitative Health Research

Qualitative Inquiry

 Informatics Journals

BMC Medical Informatics and Decision Making

International Journal of Medical Informatics

Journal of Biomedical Informatics

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association

Methods of Information in Medicine

Interdisciplinary Medical Journals  

Journal of Multidisciplinary Health Care

Quality and Safety in Health Care

Social Science & Medicine 

MedEd Websites

MedEdWorld

MedEdPORTAL

Subject-Specific Journals
The following is a list of selected journals, listed by subject area, that frequently include articles on medical educational research and innovations in their respective discipline.

Anatomy
The Anatomical Record: Advances in Integrative Anatomy and Evolutionary Biology

Clinical Anatomy

Anesthesiology
Anesthesiology

Emergency Medicine
Academic Emergency Medicine

Family Medicine
Family Medicine

Geriatrics and Gerontology
Educational Gerontology

Journal of the American Geriatrics Society

POGOe (Portal of Geriatric On-Line Education)

The Gerontologist

Internal Medicine
American Journal of Medicine

Annals of Internal Medicine

British Medical Journal

Journal of the American Medical Association

Journal of Evaluation in Clinical Practice

Journal of General Internal Medicine

Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine

Lancet

New England Journal of Medicine

Southern Medical Journal

Medical Ethics
Journal of Medical Ethics

Medical Informatics 

Medical Informatics and the Internet in Medicine

Neurology
Neurology

Nutrition 
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

OB-GYN
American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Palliative Care
American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Care

Journal of Palliative Medicine

Pediatrics
Academic Pediatrics:

Pediatrics

Pharmacy
Journal of Pharmacy Teaching: [EBSCO; no public website]

Preventive Medicine
American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Primary Care
Education for Primary Care

Psychiatry
Academic Psychiatry

Radiology
Academic Radiology

Rehabilitation Medicine
American Journal of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation

Rheumatology
Journal of Rheumatology

Surgery
American Journal of Surgery

Journal of Surgical Research

Urology
Journal of Urology

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The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has established Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals to help authors and editors.  These requirements not only focus on more technical areas regarding preparation and submission of manuscripts, but also discuss ethical principles concerning evaluating, improving, and publishing manuscripts in medical journals and the relationships between editors, authors, peer reviewers, and the media.  See http://www.icmje.org/

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Office of Medical Education 1300 York Avenue, Room C-118 New York, NY 10065 (212) 746-1050