The goal of the Texas A&M Medical Student Grand Rounds course is to provide first-year medical students a foundation for understanding of the research literature focused on a current topic of importance, and the development of skills needed for grand rounds and clinical case presentations required during medical school, and in residencies and fellowships.

This experience is intended to both build proficiency and to establish processes for the regular review of the scientific literature throughout the medical career. Each student will independently research a focused clinically-relevant basic science topic and then present their findings to a small group of their peers. Faculty mentors guide the students in the development of their scholarly research activities.

• The first objective of the research presentation is to provide a basic foundation of background information on the topic.
• The second objective is to present a cogent discussion of current research, focusing on state-of-the-art investigations aimed at elucidating the underlying mechanisms of the disease pathogenesis, which will lead to new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, prognosis and/or treatment.

Please take special note that this second objective requires students to access the primary literature rather than textbooks, websites, and review articles. The primary literature includes experimental studies that have a Materials and Methods section.

Students are expected to develop an in-depth understanding-avoiding a superficial coverage of the topic. Presentations include detailed discussion specific areas of basic science research including results from mechanistic in vitro and in vivo studies. Incorporation of epidemiological and/or clinical trials are encouraged. Written abstracts of the student presentations are published in this online journal. Those receiving Honors recognition by faculty and student peer-reviews are presented in the Featured Abstracts section.