Science Advance: Master of Science in Clinical Research-CDC Collaborative Work Featured in JAMA Publication and Video

A major fertility study was published recently in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Trends in use of and reproductive outcomes associated with intracytoplasmic sperm injection,represents CDC-Emory collaboration. This included Sherrie Boulet, DrPH, MPH, epidemiologist, CDC's National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities and Akanksha Mehta, MD, senior associate in the Department of Urology at Emory University School of Medicine and current Atlanta Clinical & Translational Science Institute (ACTSI) Master of Science in Clinical Research student.  

"This work was a product of an Emory-CDC collaboration spawned from the ACTSI-MSCR program," Martin G. Sanda, MD, Professor and Chief of Urology, Emory School of Medicine and Emory Healthcare. JAMA selected the article as the highlight of the January issue, and came to Emory to film a video that is posted on The JAMA Network. Researchers say use of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) for the treatment of infertile couples has more than doubled in the last two decades, primarily among couples without male factor infertility, and without clear evidence of benefit over conventional in vitro fertilization. They also report ICSI did not improve reproductive outcomes, and may even worsen outcomes, when used in cases with non-male factor infertility. Read more from Emory's News Center

The Emory Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) degree program, from the Laney Graduate School at Emory University, provides didactic and mentored clinical and translational research training. The degree is designed for participants at Emory University and Georgia Tech who hold a doctorate or equivalent degree (such as physicians and PhD-level scientists) or predoctoral trainees enrolled in a dual degree program (MD/MSCR and PhD/MSCR tracks) and have demonstrated a commitment to a career in clinical investigation. Morehouse School of Medicine also has an MSCR program for MSM applicants supported through an RCMI grant.

The ACTSI is a city-wide partnership between Emory, Morehouse School of Medicine, and Georgia Tech and is one of a national consortium striving to improve the way biomedical research is conducted across the country. The consortium, funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences one of the National Institutes of Health’s Clinical and Translational Science Awards, shares a common vision to translate laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients, engage communities in clinical research efforts, and train the next generation of clinical investigators.