Educational Research Grants

2025-2026 Educational Research Grant

The Virginia Apgar Academy of Medical Educators is pleased to announce the call for Apgar Education Research Grant proposals.  VP&S faculty members are invited to propose projects with a budget up to $5,000* that seek to implement new ways of teaching an aspect of the complex skill set necessary to advance health care. This could include, but not be limited to, curricular innovations, new approaches to assessment, faculty development projects, and evaluation of new pedagogical methods. The learners targeted by the project can range across levels of training within CUIMC.  Selection will be a competitive process. Impact on teaching (at any level) at CUIMC will be a major consideration in the selection process.

Eligibility:

  • The study PI must be VP&S faculty member, but need not be a member of the Apgar Academy to apply. VP&S faculty include faculty of the medical school, Program in Genetic Counseling, Institute of Human Nutrition, Program in Occupational Therapy, and Program in Physical Therapy.

Your application must include:

  • Your contact information, including name, department, academic title, e-mail address, and phone number.
  • A brief (up to 3 page) CV or NIH style bio-sketch
  • A proposal (no more than 5 pages) for the research that would be funded, including
    • Goals/Rationale
    • Pilot data (if available and applicable – NOT required)
    • Specific aims
    • Research Methodology
    • Analytic/evaluative methods
    • Peer review and/or dissemination of results
    • Timeline
    • Anticipated impact of the project on education at CUIMC
  • A specific, one-page budget
  • Bibliography for the project
  • Letter of recommendation from VP&S faculty member who knows the candidate’s work (may submit separately by recommender or by applicant with other application materials)
  • Letter from Vice Dean of Education, Associate Dean for Curriculum, course director, or clerkship director indicating that the project has been approved for inclusion in the curriculum if the project would result in a course for VP&S students.

Budget:

The project should be funded primarily by this $5,000 grant and completed within this academic year. Projects designed to be completed in two phases over two years may be submitted for a total award amount of $10,000. Reflecting on the budget and other constraints, applications are expected to represent an early phases of work including feasibility. Projects of a larger scope are not well suited for this program. Collaborations with fellows and residents are welcome as collaborators on projects. However, the grant cannot support their salary if included. Allowable expenses include items such as statistical support, equipment, and software. Funds from Apgar grants may NOT be used to offset the faculty member’s salary or offset cost of travel.

Contact information:

Although not required, applicants are strongly encouraged to consult with one of the following Apgar Educational Research Grant Application Mentors:

Beth Barron, MD David A. Gudis, MD, FACS, FARS Katherine Dimitropoulou, PhD, OTR/L
Internal Medicine Otolaryngology Rehab and Regenerative Medicine
bab2113@cumc.columbia.edu dag62@cumc.columbia.edu kd2524@cumc.columbia.edu

Current and Previous Grantees

2025 Educational Research Grant Recipients

Side by Side images of two grantees smiling

(L to R:) Himabindu K. Ekanadham, MD, Razan Hamed, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

Proposal: Primary Care Training Redesign: A Multi-Modal Longitudinal Program Geared at Equipping Primary Care Providers With Advocacy Skills, Community Engagement, and Leadership Development to Achieve Health Justice

Principal Investigator: Himabindu K. Ekanadham, MD; Co-Investigators: Ana Esteban, MD, Aury Garcia, MD, Melissa Encarnacion, MD

Proposal: Using Virtual Reality In Teaching Professional Skills In Healthcare

Principal Investigator:  Razan Hamed, PhD, OTR/L, FAOTA

2024 Education Research Grant Recipients

(L to R: Patrice Pryce, MD; Moneek Madra, PhD, Said S. Saab, MD, MEd, MPhil)

Proposal: Development of a Health Equity-Focused Simulation for Pediatric Critical Care Trainees to Improve End of Life Communication with Parents

Principal Investigator: Patrice Pryce, MD; Co-Investigators: Linda Aponte-Patel, MD; Tarif Choudhury, MD

Proposal: Lifestyle Medicine Course Development

Principal Investigator: Moneek Madra, PhD

Proposal: Development of a Program to Assess MCY Students’ Practical Skills

 in Suturing and Knot Tying

Principal Investigator: Said S. Saab, MD, MEd, MPhil; Co-Investigators: Jessica Chaoul, MD; Zachary Milligan, BS

2023 Education Research Grant Recipients

Woman with long blonde hair smiling in black top and white coat

Proposal: Students’ Perceptions of a Learner Completed Workplace Based Assessment for Resident Teaching

PI: Dr. Shoshana Friedman; Co-investigators Marguerite Costich MD MS, Nicole Meyers MD and Marina Catallozzi MD MSCE

 

 

 

 

2022 Education Research Grant Recipients

side by side images of two BIPOC women smiling

(L to R:) Dr. Shivani Ghoshal; Dr. Hetty Cunningham

Proposal: Simulation-enhanced Curriculum to Improve Critical Care Trainee Education in Brain Death Communication: Consensus Framework and Simulation Pilot Study. 

PI: Dr. Shivani Ghoshal (Professor of Neurology & Neurosurgery); Co-investigators: Kristi Burkhart (Medicine), Vivek Moitra (Anesthesiology) and David Wang (Anesthesiology)

Proposal: Building the Capacity of Healthcare Professionals Toward Anti-Racist and Inclusive Interprofessional Care

PI: Hetty Cuningham, MD (Associate Professor and Associate Vice Chair for Education and the Learning Environment, Department of Pediatrics; VP&S Director for Equity and Justice in Curricular Affairs); Co-Investigators: Laurel Daniels Abbruzzese, PT, EdD (Reahbilitation and Regerative Medicine- PT) and Ashley Graham-Perel, EdD, RN, NPD-BC, MEDSURG-BC, CNE (Nursing)

 2021 Education Research Grant Recipients

Block of eight headshots of various faces smiling

(Top L to R: Ahimaz, Wynn, Bell, Ader; Bottom L to R: Hill, Saha, Barron, Carpenter)

Proposal: Developmental of an Interactive Educational Module to Teach Physicians How to Consent for Whole Exome Sequencing

Principal Investigator: Priyanka Ahimaz, MS, CGC; Co-Investigator: Julia Wynn, MS, MS, CGC

Proposal: Intervention to capture the diagnostic potential of individuals in a group-based learning or clinical environment: A feasibility study

Principal Investigator: Michelle Bell MD; Co-Investigator: Jeremy Ader MD, MBA

Utilization of a 3D printed Ultrasound Phantom Model of Shoulder Dislocation as a Novel Training Tool

Principal Investigator: Jason Hill MD-PhD

Training Medical Students in Motivational Interviewing: Improving Skills in Substance Abuse Counseling

Principal Investigator: Prantik Saha, MD MPH; Co-Investigators: Beth Anne Barron, MD and Kenneth Carpenter, PhD

2020 Virginia Apgar Academy Education Research Grant

Smiling woman in doctor's white coat

Beth Barron, MD

Proposal: PHASE II: The development of a faculty student progress coaching aid: NLP approach to EPA sentiment analysis & text classification

PI:Beth Barron, MD in collaboration with CERE

 

 

 

2019 Virginia Apgar Academy Education Research Grants

three headshots of diverse female winners side by side

(L to R:) Jean-Marie E. Alves-Bradford, MD; Hemangi Shuklah, MD; Beth Barron, MD

Proposal: Training psychiatric residents in primary care in integrated care settings

PI: Jean- Marie E. Alves-Bradford, MD 

Proposal: AudoBon-Bons, Bite-sized learning for Residents and students in the Ambulatory Ob/Gyn Clinic

PI: Hemangi Shukla, MD with Co-Investigators Rini Ratan MD, Tiffany Sia MD, and Elizabeth McMillian

Proposal: The development of a faculty student progress coaching aid: NLP approach to EPA sentiment analysis & text classification

PI:Beth Barron, MD in collaboration with CERE

2018 Virginia Apgar Academy Education Research Grants 

Four headshots of diverse winners smiling

(L-to-R:) Christopher Kevin Wong, PT, PhD; Kanwal M. Farooqi, MD; Ruth Landau, MD; Allison Lee, MD

Proposal: Developing CUIMC Clinical Faculty to Meet the Need for Published Clinical Scholars in the Pipeline of Future Physical Therapy Faculty with a New Journal Author Advising Project 

PI: Christopher Kevin Wong, PT, PhD

Proposal: 3D Printing as a Teaching Tool

PI: Kanwal M. Farooqi, MD

Proposal: ‘Improving Providers’ Education On Opioid Prescription After Surgery

PI: Ruth Landau, MD

Proposal: A randomized controlled trial to compare the effectiveness of a serious game versus an educational video to improve competency in the management of perioperative anaphylaxis among PGY-1 residents 

PI: Allison Lee, MD