The scientific basis for emergency medicine clinical practice and preventive interventions is the core research focus of the Department of Emergency Medicine. During the past 2 years, we have initiated the development of a program to conduct advanced emergency medicine-based clinical, epidemiological, health service, public health, and educational research.  Additionally, we created a Research Committee to acquire grant funding, develop a teaching research methodology, and establish collaborative efforts with other intramural and extramural research programs.  

Research Committee
The Research Committee was created to provide guidance, support, and assistance for all clinical, health service, and public health research conducted under the auspices of the Department of Emergency Medicine. The committee consists of several diverse and talented experts, including a PhD epidemiologist, a PhD statistician, a PhD nurse specialist, a nationally recognized medical informatics expert, the Deputy Editor for JAMA, and the senior editor for the journal, Academic Emergency Medicine. 

The specific tasks of the Committee are to establish research guidelines; review the designs and protocols prior to initiation of a study or clinical trial; provide ethics oversight; to initiate, assist, and review grant applications for residents and faculty; to suggest areas of investigation for residents and junior faculty; and to review papers prior to submission.  Additionally, the Committee coordinates pre-medical and medical student research volunteers and develops junior faculty to conduct reviews of emergency medicine journal articles.

Collaborations
The Emergency Department (ED) is a main entry point for most patients who receive care at Northwestern Memorial Hospital (NMH).  For this reason, we have established collaborative relationships with other departments and divisions within Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine.  In addition, we have established collaborative efforts with several other intramural and extramural research programs.

Enhancing Research Knowledge
The research program also places great emphasis on enhancing the research knowledge and skills of our faculty and residents.  To achieve this aim, journal club meets monthly to provide a systematic review of articles, and junior faculty and residents receive one-on-one consultations on the development of research projects from a PhD epidemiologist and a PhD statistician. In addition, a lecture series provides faculty, residents, interns, and medical students with a logical approach for understanding clinical research and making decisions based on the current literature.

Grant Funding
To support our vigorous research program, we have actively sought and received grant funding from several government and foundation sources, including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Patient Safety Foundation, the Excellence in Academic Medicine Program from the State of Illinois, the Northwestern Memorial Hospital Women's Board, the Northwestern Memorial Foundation, and other philanthropic sources.  This funding has focused our clinical and preventive research in order to improve patients’ care and experiences in the ED.  Additionally, many of our research projects have resulted in journal publications, abstract presentations at national scientific meetings, and research awards.

Clinical Research
Emergency medicine clinical research encompasses a broad spectrum of patient care. Our talented faculty members have initiated several lines of research.