Departmental Thesis Chairs

OSR’s mission is executed at the departmental level by “departmental thesis chairs,” who comprise YSM’s formal Departmental Thesis Chair Committee. These individuals serve a critical role in the cultivation and management of YSM’s student research enterprise and fulfill myriad roles related to medical student research at YSM. While their title denotes their role in the thesis process, their responsibilities extend to numerous OSR functions including:

1. supporting students in their search for a mentor;
2. providing feedback on students’ proposals for research funding;
3. approval of short term requests before a final review in OSR (Research Funding); and
4. approval of applications for one-year funding prior to final review in OSR.

During the fourth year of medical school, when the student prepares the required thesis, departmental thesis chairs perform critical functions including:

1. communication with students regarding departmental deadlines for thesis submission and review (Thesis Deadlines);
2. consideration and granting of deadline extensions;
3. coordination of the departmental thesis review and approval process;
4. review and approval of all theses submitted in a given department (Thesis Preparation and Approval);
5. in very rare cases, nominating a thesis for prize consideration (Thesis Awards).

Given their close working relationship with students, departmental thesis chairs provide invaluable insights to OSR leadership. Drs. Chaudhry and Herzog meet with and communicate with this group regularly over the course of the academic year.