Medical Student Research Fellowship for Summer 2012
Mentor: Heidi T. Jacobe, MD
Department: Dermatology
Room number: NL 8.140B
Mail Code: 9069
Phone number: 214-633-1845
E-mail: Heidi.Jacobe@utsouthwestern.edu
Project title: Attitudes and Trends in the Treatment of Morphea: A National Study
Project 1: Amanda Strickland
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): STU 122011-129
Project Type Patient-based research
Brief Description of Project:
Morphea, or localized scleroderma, is a heterogeneous disease of both adults and children that can lead to severe disability. The attitudes of physicians that care for these patients has not been studied in regards to treatment. Given the diverse treatment modalities employed in this disease, there is no uniform standard of care for morphea and the indications for aggressive treatment are not widely accepted. Thus, in order answer these questions, we performed a national cross-sectional survey of both Private and University-affiliated Dermatologists who were randomly selected from the current Medical Dermatology Society. Members of the Medical Dermatology Society (MDS) are given a survey of about 85 questions asking about their specific methods of treating various forms of morphea, such as plaque and linear. The MDS includes a concentrated set of health care providers that have training to treat morphea and other forms of scleroderma. Once collected, the responses are analyzed for trends and commonalities in treatment choices.
The student will be responsible for entering responses of the participants into a computerized database, interpretation and analysis of the data (analyzed in GraphPad Prism 5 using Chi Squared tests or ANOVA tests as appropriate), and will aid drafting of the final manuscript . The data will be verified by Dr. Jacobe’s statistician.
Project 2: Nicole Strickland
Human subjects IRB approved project number (where applicable): STU 122011-129
Project Type Patient-based research
Brief Description of Project:
Morphea, or localized scleroderma, is an idiopathic inflammatory disease that affects both adults and children. Patients present with sclerotic plaques that transition into atrophic lesions; the severity of cosmetic or functional deformities depends on the depth of tissue involvement. Given the diverse treatment modalities employed in this disease, there is no uniform standard of care for morphea and the indications for aggressive treatment are not widely accepted. The attitudes of physicians that care for these patients has not been studied in regards to treatment. Thus, in order answer these questions, we performed a national cross-sectional survey of both Private and University-affiliated adult and pediatric Dermatologists and Rheumatologists who were randomly selected from the current membership directories of the American Academy of Dermatology, College of Rheumatology, Society for Pediatric Dermatology, and Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance.
The student will be responsible for entering responses of the participants into a computerized database, interpretation and analysis of the data (analyzed in GraphPad Prism 5 using Chi Squared tests or ANOVA tests as appropriate), and will aid drafting of the final manuscript . The data will be verified by Dr. Jacobe’s statistician.
Previous Research Activities or Publications with Medical Students:
UTSWMC Medical Student Research Projects:
Publications: