Research

Pediatric otolaryngology fellows participate actively in clinical research, often as the principal investigator. They submit the IRB protocol, carry out the data collection and analyses and write the manuscript under the supervision of the attending faculty. Due to constraints of the one-year fellowship program there is no protected time for basic science research rotations, and as such, the fellows in the program have not actively participated in basic science research. A second fellowship year, however, could be arranged to allow for a more robust research experience, including the potential for extensive basic science research. There are formal internal mechanisms in place to support this potential second fellowship year. 

Fellows have been productive in clinical research. In the past five years there have been over 12 presentations by fellows at national meetings and 15 publications led by fellows in national peer-reviewed journals. There is extensive extramural and intramural grant funding within the department, including active R01, U01 and SBIR grants from the NIH, along with multiple external foundation awards. These grants currently account for approximately $1 million for extramural research support to the division each year.

During the fellowship, each fellow is assigned an office space with a dedicated computer and internet access. Children's National offers access to MEDLINE searches and full-text articles on OVID and MD Consult databases. The library has 12 computers and 2 medical librarians to help with literature searches and retrieval of articles, including the use of interlibrary loans. In addition, pediatric otolaryngology fellows also have access to the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences library.