Faculty Research Highlights

There is research going on all across Johns Hopkins, but that may not mean what you think it does.

Today at Hopkins, we define research in its broadest sense. While more than 80 percent of our basic-science faculty are working on National Institutes of Health grants, exploring the very roots of human functioning, so are more than 50 percent of our clinical faculty, as they investigate new approaches to diagnosis and treatment. But research today extends still further. Consider a few examples:

• Outcomes studies are analyzing the treatment methods and techniques that best help patients.
• Public health studies (often done in concert with The Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health) are looking at how lifestyle, income, environment and ethnicity affect health and well-being.
• Translational studies determine how the latest discoveries about biology and genetics can help patients in hospitals and community practices.

Medical students at Hopkins aren't required to do research during their years here, but more than 80 percent of them eventually opt to. Asked what drives that decision, many cite the commitment by faculty mentors to the relentless pursuit of new knowledge and better techniques.

As a student, your research experiences can range from two-month electives to a year or more of leave for extended study. Every summer, nearly 100 students pursue investigations with support from Hopkins-sponsored grants. And every spring, the Hopkins community gathers to honor the work of its budding researchers during the Young Investigator Awards ceremony.

The ability to conduct, evaluate and understand research will be critical as medicine advances. That'll be as true for the general practitioner as for the neurosurgeon. So, back to your question: Is Hopkins all about research? You bet.