Though the middle of a pandemic was far from being the ideal setting to carry out our activities, SPIE’s Research & Development (R&D) Wing adapted admirably to the new challenge by holding true to its innovative nature. Embracing the power of virtual learning meant that the past few months have been amongst the most productive that the R&D Wing has had: here are a few highlights of SPIE’s summer 2020!
Research Made Ridiculously Simple (22nd-27th June 2020)
Earlier this year, SPIE’s Research & Development (R&D) Wing had a brainwave. Pakistan, as a country, lags tremendously behind in terms of the quality and quantity of Health Research. What better way to begin addressing this than to delve deep into the core of the matter itself, and start by addressing the problem at the grassroot level? With this in mind SPIE’s R&D Wing organized and executed “Research Made Ridiculously Simple (MRS)”, a virtual week-long basic research skills webinar for Pre-Medical Students across Pakistan! The first of its kind, over 400 Pre-Medical students across Pakistan signed up for this course, out of which 125 were selected to participate in the Course! The complete package of basic research skills was taught by SPIE’s Research Mentors and the dynamic Dr Syeda Sadia Fatima. What’s more, the Top 15 Students were selected for research projects with SPIE! They are currently blossoming under the mentorship and guidance of SPIE R&D Wing’s Student Research Mentors.
Research MRS: Teaching Medical Research at the Grassroot Level!
Research MRS: A glance at the Leaderboard based on performance in the Course!
Ready, Set, Research! (20th-26th July 2020)
SPIE’s R&D Wing, with the continued aim of promoting research in Pakistan, conducted “Ready, Set , Research!”, a series of virtual research workshops for Health Sciences students across Pakistan. Though we usually hold this event in the form of the Annual Research Symposium at the CIME, AKU, this time around we went virtual! The event was also a step forward to expand the SPIE Student Research Mentorship Program in Health Science Universities across Pakistan. The program was a collaboration with the International Federation of Medical Students Association – Dow University of Health Sciences’ Local Council. The research workshops were attended by 350 Health Science Students from Universities across the country. Once again, the complete package of basic research skills was taught by SPIE’s Mentors and the evergreen Dr Syeda Sadia Fatima. The Top 30 Students were shortlisted for interviews to become SPIE Student Research Mentors, and hence brand ambassadors for SPIE’s R&D Wing and promote a research culture across Health Science Universities in Pakistan.
“Systematic Reviews” with Dr Omar Irfan
With the growing need for evidence-based practice and education, SPIE’s R&D Wing organized a session with Dr Omar Irfan [MBBS, ’17] to teach the art and skill of systematic reviews to medical students. The session was conducted on the 26th of July 2020. Dr Irfan, who is currently a Research Associate at Sick Kids, Toronto, has recently published a joint IPA-UNICEF brief on COVID-19 in Children and Pregnant Women, and has had an article accepted at The Lancet Infectious Diseases Journal. The session was a roaring success with more than 150 medical students from AKU and beyond tuning in to learn from Dr Omar’s expertise and experience in systematic reviews and meta-analyses.
The Research Games Session 3: “Referencing And Citations” with Mir Ibrahim Sajid
This session was conducted on the 11th of July 2020, in collaboration with the Student Research Form (SRF). This session was facilitated by Mir Ibrahim Sajid [MBBS, ’21] who also is a senior advisor to the Strategic Planning and Development Wing of AKU’s Student Research Forum (SRF). His research interests revolve around orthopedics and infectious diseases. Ibrahim Sajid taught the basics of Referencing and how to use the citation manager EndNote. Around 32 AKU Students attended the session, which received very positive feedback from the attendees! We thank Mir Ibrahim Sajid for his efforts!
The Research Games Session 4: “Ethical Principles in Research” with Dr Kulsoom Ghias
The session was held on 17th July 2020, in collaboration with SRF. The session was conducted by Dr Kulsoom Ghias who is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, AKU Medical College. 28 AKU Students attended the session. Dr Ghias covered the importance of ERC, ethical conduct of research along with the AKU ERC application process. The students greatly appreciated Dr Ghias’ efforts to break down the complex and delicate procedure of applying for ethical approval for research. We thank Dr Ghias for her time and dedication towards SPIE’s RD Wing!
The Research Games Session 5: “Data Collection and Statistical Analysis” with Russell Seth Martins
The session was conducted on the 25th of July 2020, in collaboration with SRF. Russell Seth Martins, a student from the AKU MBBS Class of 2021, conducted the session. Russell is Co-Director of SPIE’s RD Wing, and his research interests include Surgery, Public Health, Healthcare Disparities and Medical Education! In his session, Russell covered the details of data collection and basic statistical analysis, and also taught how to perform different statistical tests on SPSS software. He ensured that all 30 AKU Students who participated in his session left with a comprehensive and clear knowledge of how to approach statistical analysis in research. We thank Russell Seth Martins for his efforts!
Student Research Mentor Program: 1st Publication!
July 15th marked the first publication of SPIE’s Student Research Mentor Program (introduced January 2020)! Russell Seth Martins (Mentor) and Zaiba Shafik Dawood (Mentee), both from the Class of 2021 and surgery research enthusiasts, published their study titled “Prolonged length of stay after surgery for adult congenital heart disease: a single-center study in a developing country” in the prestigious Cardiology in the Young (Cambridge University Press). The faculty on the paper included Dr Saleem Akhtar from the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, the Aga Khan University, and Dr M. Kamran Younis Memon from the Department of Pediatrics, Liaquat National Hospital & Medical College. The abstract for the study may be accessed here.
New Student Mentors Recruited!
When SPIE started off in 2017, the Research & Development Wing only had 8 Student Research Mentors. This July, however, we welcome 10 new Student Research Mentors to take our total up to 30! Our latest recruits are all fantastic individuals who are committed to research and mentorship. A warm welcome into the SPIE RD Wing family to Komal Abdul Rahim (Trainee Intern Nurse; BScN Graduate Class of 2019), Hamna Amir Naseem (MBBS 2021), Syeda Ramlah tul Sania (MBBS 2022), Ateefa Al-Noor (BScN 2022), Namrah Aziz (MBBS 2023), Javeria Tariq (MBBS 2023), Hareem Rauf (MBBS 2023), Muskaan Abdul Qadir (MBBS 2023), Faiqa Aamir (MBBS 2023), and Fatima Zahra (MBBS 2024)!
After a short training period, our new Student Research Mentors will be all ready to take up Mentees of their very own and we are sure that they’ll make SPIE’s RD Wing proud!
SPIE Kids: Pre-Medical Outreach
Keeping with our mission and ultimate goal of improving the research culture and the quality and quantity of research output from Pakistan, SPIE’s RD Wing decided to give Pre-Medical Students the chance to take part in SPIE research. Together with our team of highly trained Student Research Mentors, 25 Pre-Medical Students from schools across the country are currently working on 3 innovative research projects with experienced faculty at the Aga Khan University! Under the mentorship and guidance of SPIE’s RD Wing, these brilliant young students are blossoming into enthusiastic medical researchers!
SPIE and IMIG COVID-19 Courses for High-School Students (June-July 2020)
During these uncertain times, with schools across the country closed, high school students are at their wit’s ends about how to spend their time. The Internal Medicine Interest Group (IMIG) at the Aga Khan University conceived and designed a week-long virtual COVID-19 Educational Course for High-School students across the country. With over 200 participants, the Course was received with a lot of energy, and was conducted twice during the summer by IMIG. SPIE’s RD Wing stepped in to help IMIG objectively assess the impact of their Course, and both teams are currently working on writing-up the paper!
SPIE and Quadragon COVID-19 Courses for School Students (June-July 2020)
Why stop at High-School students, you very rightly ask? SPIE didn’t! Our Community Wing collaborated with Quadragon, a student-run NGO founded to alleviate poverty in Pakistan, to design and deliver “How Not To Go Viral”, a short COVID-19 Educational Session for students ranging from Grade 4 – Grade 12! Once again, SPIE’s RD Wing stepped in to evaluate the impact of the Session! Read more about the Course here.
Lead the Search 3.0 (13th-27th July 2020)
When it comes to research, SPIE’s RD Wing believes in the power of harnessing the potential of individuals to bring out the best in them. With Lead the Search 3.0 (the 3rd Edition of the competition), the team opened up the floor to Medical Students across the country to send in their research ideas themed around COVID-19! After receiving a whopping 100+ submission, the SPIE’s RD Wing will now shortlist the best ideas and take the winners on board to pursue their research idea with the guidance and mentorship of our Student Research Mentors!
