Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2005

Mentor: Marlyn J. Mayo, M.D.
Department: Internal Medicine
Room number: F4120
Mail Code: 9151
Phone number: 83444
E-mail: marlyn.mayo@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Autoimmune hepatitis: comparison of demographic and outcome differences among different ethnic groups.

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):

Project Type : patient-based
Brief Description of Project: Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the liver that attacks primarily women and is characterized by exacerbations and remissions, resulting in progressive fibrosis. Published studies of autoimmune hepatitis have been single-center, retrospective reviews of small numbers of mostly Caucasian patients. However, a large number of AIH patients at UTSW are Hispanic or African American, and little to no information exists on the clinical presentation and course of AIH in these persons. The NIH has recently declared ethnic differences in AIH as a topic that needs to be researched. We postulate that differences in the epidemiology, clinical presentation, severity of disease, treatment response, and outcomes in AIH exist between different ethnic groups. This project is a retrospective, cross-sectional, multi-center pilot study of patients with AIH to examine these issues. The student will be taught how to obtain IRB and HIPPA approval for a clinical study. Then the student will complete a chart review of known cases of AIH at UTSW, collecting data on race, ethnicity, associated autoimmune diseases, symptoms, exam findings, autoantibodies, liver biopsy findings, medications, and response to therapy. The student will learn statistical methods to analyze epidemiological data. The project should be easily completed during the summer session, and the student may write up the results. It is anticipated that the data collected from this descriptive study will be combined with data from other centers and used as preliminary data for an application to the NIH for funding of a multi-center AIH treatment trial. The student will also interact with other clinical teaching faculty at gastroenterology fellow teaching conferences, and he/she may see patients with autoimmune hepatitis and other chronic liver diseases in the Parkland Liver Clinic and General Clinical Research Center if they have already completed an introduction to clinical medicine course.

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:
7/04-6/05 Doris Duke Fellow: Sandra Saldana, "Serum Markers of Fibrosis in Primary Biliary Cirrhosis"

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