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The 2026-2027 DO School Specific Threads are now available in the School Specific Discussions forum. The 2025-2026 discussions are now available in the prior year discussions forum.
Best DO schools for research
Started by Robracer89
OSU is great! Whether you want bench research or wanna do systematic reviews and such there are options. The PHD students do a lot so you can piggy back off of that. I just finished up and OB project, am about to finish up and ortho project, and will have a psych and derm project done in a few months.
I have applied to OSU!!! But as an OOS applicant I doubt I'll get an interview. Do you have ideas about KCU or NYIT?
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I am an OOS student who got in. Just keep updating them and expressing interest. Also, KCU is not good for research. Which was one of the biggest reasons I didn't go there. Not that they don't have research, but KCU's curriculum is situated in such a way that there really isn't time for research. I know nothing about NYIT!
Okay!! Thank you so much for your input o greatly appreciate it. Best of luck to you in your future endeavors!!
It's my understanding that if you can make the time there are significant research opportunies at KCU. I just read an article of a KCU student winning an award for outstanding research from the American Association of Clinical Anatomists on their website. They have a lot of resources for research in KC, but like posted earlier, only if you can find time for it.
Rowan, TCOM, OSU, MSU, and UNE come to mind. All of these places have a good amount of R01 funded projects (NIH). KCU is working their way up their. I believe two NIH R01 and one NSF grant were awarded this last year. We have one insanely outsanding student who is completing their Sarnoff Research Fellowship at the dept of cardiology chair at the University of Michigan. We are trying hard to find stronger mentors through alumni to help with non basic science research such as case reort type work.
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Thank you so much!! Is it weird that i was going to literally DM you about the KCU question . As a student do you agree that there really isn't time in the curriculum at KCU for research. Would really appreciate your opinion.
Doing bench work whilst being in the KCU curriculum is very very tough, but it's doable if you have had the experience in doing it. The issue is sometimes you re just too busy to really commit a good amount of time. You're not going to get anywhere assisting someone running westerns. I have a friend who spent 4 years at Duke after graduating as a lab manager who seriously could't keep up with it. I just feel that the school wants your 100% attentions to board studying and third fourth year you can take research electives if you'd like. At the end of the day, a 240 with no research is probably looked at better than a 210 with 2 poster presentations, especially with coming from the "DO" side of applicants.
Yeah, board scores will get you far in the low to mid competitive specialities, and research is by no means obligatory for these specialities, even at solid mid tier university programs. If, however, you have your eyes set on ortho or something, you kind of need the whole package, research and boards.
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Yep, if you are shorting ortho or something you gotta have it all. Research, LORs, and stellar scores. Unfortunately it's very tough to find good mentored research in these specialties since many DO schools lack these clinical departments in the first place and f they do exist, many are not doing research.
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Sigh this is a struggle I don't solely want to go MD based off that they have better research opportunities. I really am enthusiastic about the ideas behind osteopathic medicine
Re: NYIT. I actually had the chance to get to know a dean there a few years ago and he is really eager to establish strong research opportunities for their students. So much so in fact that they will offer a 50% tuition reduction (for the entirety of medical school) to any student willing to take a 5th research year as a student. I was quite impressed by this. Good luck in your decision!
Hey thanks for the feedback!!!!!
The research opportunities go far beyond just doing research. Many times the research faculty at MD schools are themselves MDs or MD PhDs with appointments to clinical departments as well and so making a good impact can help you come residency application time if you choose to pursue that specialty.
Additionally, UNE and another DO school do in fact offer OMM training for MD clinicians should that be something you'd like to learn in the long run. There is no special or sacred training that they put you through at a DO school besides simply learning manipulation. Biochem, pharm, path aren't taught using the "osteopathic approach" (whatever that means). What is considered and taught is learning to supplement modern medicine with OMM.
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Let's see, off the top of my head, and based upon AOA research grants I've reviewed:
NYITCOM
Touro-CA
mine
KCU
OHCOM
TCOM
MSUCOM
EDIT: also keep in mind that there are other research venues in NYC if you're at Touro-NY (for example, Sloan-Kettering, Columbia, Cornell, and the Rockefeller Institute...these are just the uptown ones that come to mind), and in Indy (IUSM, IUPUI) for MUCOM.
NYITCOM
Touro-CA
mine
KCU
OHCOM
TCOM
MSUCOM
EDIT: also keep in mind that there are other research venues in NYC if you're at Touro-NY (for example, Sloan-Kettering, Columbia, Cornell, and the Rockefeller Institute...these are just the uptown ones that come to mind), and in Indy (IUSM, IUPUI) for MUCOM.
# of NIH awards for 2016 (Source:https://report.nih.gov/award/index.cfm?ot=&fy=2016&state=&ic=&fm=&orgid=&distr=&rfa=&om=n&pid=).
15+ TCOM, MSUCOM
10-15 OSUCOM, OUHCOM, NSUCOM
5-9 Rowan, UNECOM, Western-COMP
1-4 CCOM, NYIT, Touro-CA, DMU, KCU
15+ TCOM, MSUCOM
10-15 OSUCOM, OUHCOM, NSUCOM
5-9 Rowan, UNECOM, Western-COMP
1-4 CCOM, NYIT, Touro-CA, DMU, KCU
Good information here.
This is a bit misleading but good information nonetheless. Schools like UNE (7 grants) and NOVA (10 grants) are NOT getting NIH funding SOLELY for medical school research. They have undergraduate and other graduate programs that account for some of that. (I know for a fact for UNE that half of those grants are for the PharmD program). So while you can use this for general guidance do your due diligence and do not take it at face value.
I wanted to add in that while having research in other interprofessional areas is always a positive, having the ability to do random research on say "X drug pathway" isn't going to do much for the student looking to get involved in a specific field of medicine that likely requires specific research to that area.
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I wanted to add in that while having research in other interprofessional areas is always a positive, having the ability to do random research on say "X drug pathway" isn't going to do much for the student looking to get involved in a specific field of medicine that likely requires specific research to that area.
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