A Year 4 Medicine Research Project is a supervised project undertaken by a fourth-year medical student at UNSW. We have two research streams:
The research project is designed by the supervisor (that meets our criteria for supervision) whose responsibility is also to obtain the appropriate ethical approval, if applicable, for the project prior to data collection and no later than the end of the 4th week of Term 1. The supervisor is also responsible for providing the student with the appropriate training and support for the project (including but not limited to health and safety, methodology, scientific/clinical knowledge and other relevant research skills). Such training could be provided to the student by the supervisor directly or by other resources such as the co-supervisor, other members of the research team or other resources available within the medicine program and the university. The supervisor is responsible for providing the student with an appropriate, safe and well-resourced research environment (if applicable).
It is required that the student attends the research environment where the project is conducted for at least 25 hours per week, for 30 weeks (MD Research/ILP) or 35 hours per week, for 34 weeks (BSc(Med) Honours). The student is not permitted to work from home for any significant length of time (maximum of 20%) and must be engaged with the research environment, attending research and supervisor meetings, seminars and other training opportunities negotiated with the supervisor(s). By the end of the ILP and/or BSc(Med) Honours the student is expected to:
BSC(MED) HONOURS ONLY:
Year 4 Medcine Research Project is designed to be undertaken in one of UNSW Medicine's Schools or a UNSW affiliated research institute or centre. Interstate or Overseas research projects will not be considered.
The research must address research aim(s) and hypotheses or research question(s) using scientific inquiry. The research must generate and/or analyse primary or secondary data in a systematic manner. It is expected that the final research report would meet the criteria set for a manuscript to be published in an indexed peer reviewed academic journal in the field.
The study design of the Year 4 Medicine Research Project may vary across the program and disciplines and below is a non-exhaustive list of examples of what would be considered appropriate, or not, for a project.
A few examples of projects that could be considered appropriate:
Some additional considerations:
A few examples that are NOT appropriate projects:
MD Research Project (ILP) Entry Requirements
Students have completed year 3 clinical coursework requirements are eligible to apply.
BSc (Med) Hons Entry Requirements
Students with a Phase 1 average course mark of ≥ 65 (see WAM calculation below) and have completed 12 UoC general education before Term 1 in year 4, are eligible to apply.
Mark Calculation
The Phase 1 average course mark is calculated from the following courses:
In addition, students are required to pass the following courses (including passing subsequent supplementary exams, but if a student fails a course then they will be ineligible):
General Education
General Education information is available here.
Dates | Activities |
1 March 2024 | Student Plan (to be completed by students in eMed) |
1 March 2024 | Negotiation Process Commences |
Monday 17 June 2024 | Due Date for Year 4 Medicine Research Project (to be completed by supervisors) |
July 2024 | Student Form (to be completed by students in eMed) |
Non-negotiated projects will be listed on eMed for students to browse and select | |
August 2024 | Allocation emails will be sent to students/supervisors |
Monday 13 February 2025 | MD Research/Honours Commenced - MANDATORY Induction day |
Friday 19 September 2025 | MD Research (ILP) Completed |
Friday 17 October 2025 | BSc(Med) Honours Completed |
How to negotiate a project
Students are encouraged to negotiate a research project with prospective supervisors. Some projects will also be designed by supervisors and listed in eMed for students to view. In both cases, the year 4 medicine research project form must be completed by the supervisor in eMed.
Past Projects
Year 4 Medicine Research Project Form
Criteria for Primary Supervisor and Co-Supervisor
Additional Criteria for Primary Supervisor
Supervisor Registration
UNSW Medicine and Health academic staff members and affilated conferred title holders (conjoint or adjunct) who are interested in taking up year 4 research students can indicate their offers by updating their staff profile (see instructions here). For more information on this, please contact Ms Khanh Vo | md.research@unsw.edu.au
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UNSW ILP - Three Minutes Thesis (3MT)
ILP students will have three minutes to present a compelling oration on their thesis topic and its significance, in language appropriate to an intelligent but non-specilaist audience. Each presentation will be assessed by a panel with the mark contributing to the overall ILP grade and also as a competition (with a $500 gift voucher prize).
3MT Winner 2019
Ms Roshana Kanagaratnam (under supervision by Dr Steven Leach)
A role for intelectin-1 and lactoferrin in health and inflammatory intestinal disease in children
Presented by Dr Linda Ferrington
2019 Cohort
Our ILP and Honours students succeed in their research projects through publications and presentations. Below is a list of achievements.
2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013
2013 Achievements
Student: Bui, David
Supervisor: Prof William Walsh
Title: The Effect of Sterilisation Protocol on Meniscal Allograft
Oral Presentation: New South Wales Australian Orthopaedic Association Annnual Scientific Meeting, 2013
Authors: Bui D, Lovric V, Oliver R, Bertello N, Broe D, Walsh W
Student: Iyer, Dushyant
Supervisor: Dr Scott D’Amours
Title: INTRA-ABDOMINAL HYPERTENSION AND ABDOMINAL COMPARTMENT SYNDROME: Pathophysiological and non-operative management
Article: Minerva Anestesiologica, 2013
Authors: Rastogi P, Iyer D, Aneman A, D'amours S
Student: Iyer, Dushyant
Supervisor: Dr Scott D’Amours
Title: The Natural History of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome
Oral Presentation: Australian Medical Student Association Convention, Gold Coast, 2013,
Authors: Iyer D, Rastogi P, D’Amours S, Aneman A
Student: Iyer, Dushyant
Supervisor: Dr Scott D’Amours
Title: Cardiothoracic surgery and intra-abdominal hypertension: An undervalued association?
Oral Presentation: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Annual Scientific Congress and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists (ANZCA) Annual Scientific Meeting, Singapore, 2014
Authors: Iyer D, Rastogi P, Aneman A, D’Amours S
Student: Iyer, Dushyant
Supervisor: Dr Scott D’Amours
Title: Early Experiences with the Resuscitation with Angiography, Percutaneous Techniques and Operative Repair (R.A.P.T.O.R) Hybrid Suite
Oral Presentation: Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) Annual Scientific Congress and the Australian and New Zealand College of Anesthetists (ANZCA) Annual Scientific Meeting, Singapore, 2014
Authors: Iyer D, Rastogi P, Aneman A, D’Amours S
Student: Iyer, Dushyant
Supervisor: Dr Scott D’Amours
Title: A predictive tool for the development of intra-abdominal hypertension and abdominal compartment syndrome in critically ill patients
Poster: International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, Brussels, Belgium, 2014
Authors: Iyer D, Rastogi P, Aneman A, D’Amours S
Student: Lawrence, Renae
Supervisor: Dr Claire Wakefield
Title: Comparing the models of care utilised by Australia and New Zealand childhood cancer long term follow-up clinics
Oral Presentation: Australian New Zealand Children’s Haematology and Oncology Group (ANZCHOG), Annual Scientific Meeting, Melbourne, 2013
Authors: McLoone JK, Wakefield CE, Lawrence R, Cohn RJ
Student: Lawrence, Renae
Supervisor: Dr Claire Wakefield
Title: Transition practices in paediatric hospitals: providing cancer survivorship care from childhood to adulthood
Oral Presentation: National Youth Cancer Services Network Meeting, Melbourne, 2013,
Authors: McLoone JK, Wakefield CE, Lawrence R, Cohn RJ
Student: Lee, Jia Li
Supervisor: A/Prof William Sewell
Title: Flow cytometry of T cells and the role of V-beta assessment
Oral Presentation: Australasian Flow Cytometry Group Annual Meeting, Wellington, NZ, 2013,
Authors: Sewell WA, Lee LJ, Smith SABC, Brown DA
Student: Mason, Emma
Supervisor: Dr Lynne Wray
Title: Sexually acquired reactive arthritis at Sydney Sexual Health Centre 1992-2012
Oral Presentation: Australasian Sexual Health Conference, Darwin, 2013,
Authors: Mason E, Wray L, Foster R, Donovan B
Student: Newton, Sally
Supervisor: Dr Renée Morris
Title: The Differential effects of Rubrospinal Tract and Red Nucleus Lesions on Skilled Reaching
Poster: Annual Neuroscience Society, Melbourne, 2013,
Authors: Newton SS, Kearsley AP and Morris R
Student: Pillay, Megan
Supervisor: Dr Mark Harris
Title: Quality of care measures in multimorbidity
Article: Australian Family Physician, 2014, 43(3):132-6
Authors: Pillay M, Dennis S, Harris MF
Student: Pillay, Megan
Supervisor: Dr Mark Harris
Title: Multimorbidity: negotiating priorities and making progress
Article: Australian Family Physician, 2013, 42(12):850-4
Authors: Harris MF, Dennis S, Pillay M
Student: Pillay, Megan
Supervisor: Dr Mark Harris
Title: Multi-morbidity and low health literacy in general practice: double trouble
Oral Presentation: Health Literacy Network: Crossing Disciplines, Bridging Gaps, 2013
Authors: Pillay M, Dennis S, Harris MF
Student: Ryan, Amitée
Supervisor: A/Prof Rebecca Dignan
Title: The PAINLESS trial (Painbuster Length of Stay) - Redefining Pain Management After Cardaic Surgery: A Randomised Pilot Trial
Oral Presentation: Australian and New Zealand Society of Cardiac and Thoracic Surgeons Annual Scientific Meeting, 2013
Authors: Dignan R, Ryan A, Mann K, Patterson E, Gebski V, Keech A, O’Regan W, Hong S, Aty W, French B, Wolfenden H, Vallely M, Bannon P, Rajendran S, Turner L
Student: Tan, Kevin
Supervisor: A/Prof Jia Lin Yang
Title: Uncovering a key to the process of metastasis in human cancers: a review of critical regulators of anoikis
Article: Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, 2013, 139(11):1795-805
Authors: Tan K, Goldstein D, Crowe P, Yang JL
For Enrolment Support, please contact The Nucleus Student Hub.
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Advanced Study & Research Committee Convenor
Dr Steven Leach
T +61 (2) 9385 8075
E mdresearch.convenor@unsw.edu.au
Advanced Study & Research Committee Coordinator
Ms Khanh Vo
T +61 (2) 9065 7108
E mdresearch.support@unsw.edu.au