Request for Funding
Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2011

All descriptions must contain enough detail to permit an assessment of the problem that is to be addressed and the methodologies that are to be employed. Please be careful to outline the role that the student will play in the project that is described. Please ensure that all relevant approval numbers (IRB, IACUC) are provided.

Mentor: Tracey Wright, MD             
Department:   Pediatrics; Division of Rheumatology       
Room number: CMC F6224           
Mail Code:     9063  
Phone number: 214-456-7288       
E-mail: tracey.wright@utsouthwestern.edu                       
Project title:    Response to Pneumococcal Vaccination in Pediatric SLE       

Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):       032009-052

Animal subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable):      

Project Type: patient-based research

Brief Description of Project:

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a severe and chronic multi-system autoimmune disease that may result in major organ dysfunction.  Approximately 20% of cases are diagnosed in childhood.  Infection and renal disease initially resulted in mortality rates of approximately 50% at 10 years.  Patients with SLE have increased risk of infection secondary to dysregulation of their immune system and use of immunosuppressants needed to control the disease.  Sepsis remains a leading cause of death. 
Pneumococcal vaccination is safe in SLE but the response to vaccination may be variable.  In children with chronic illness, antibodies after vaccination may decline in 3-5 years.  Currently, established guidelines do not exist regarding time to revaccinate with the pneumococcal vaccine.
The medical student will screen eligible subjects and obtain consent for study enrollment.    The medical student will perform chart abstraction and enter data into our registry regarding date of pneumococcal vaccination and pneumococcal titers.  The medical student will also perform basic statistical analysis to characterize subject response to vaccination and determine risk factors associated with decreased response. 

Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:

2 medical students worked with our research team during the summer of 2009.  The following abstracts were presented at the 2010 UT Southwestern Medical Student Research Forum:

• “An Assessment of Demographic and Environmental Risk Factors for Obesity in Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”
• “Traditional Risk Factors for Premature Atherosclerosis are Prevalent in Pediatric Systemic Lupus Erythematosus”