Community Engaged Research

Community-engaged research is an opportunity for medical students to collaborate with community members and organizations to address real-world challenges.

For the purposes of IU’s Institutional Research Board (IRB), community-engaged research is defined as research that: "includes the meaningful involvement of community partners in the research process, including but not limited to topic development, need identification, research design, conduct of research and/or sharing of results."

At Indiana University School of Medicine, our statewide campus system offers unique opportunities for students to engage with diverse populations — from urban neighborhoods to rural communities — ensuring that research is relevant, equitable and impactful. These partnerships not only enhance learning but also build trust and promote lasting improvements in health outcomes.

What makes for a high-quality community-engaged research project?

Community-engaged research is a collaborative process that centers the knowledge, priorities and lived experience of the people and groups most affected by its outcomes. Our community partners contribute at every stage, from defining the questions to applying the findings. Projects should be designed in order to meet a goal of the organization that can contribute to long-term or short-term knowledge generation that enables the organization to better meet the needs of community members.

What can community-engaged research look like for IU School of Medicine students?

Midtzar Alexis and Makala Blakely (Class of 2027) were serving as IU School of Medicine AmeriCorps members with Hoosier Public Health Corps at a summer STEM camp. They observed the unhealthy ways that the youth joked around mental health and designed an age-appropriate workshop with support from a psychiatry faculty member. After conducting a pre/post survey, they presented their findings at the IMPRS Research Poster Symposium. Due to the project’s success, the community partner has kept the workshop as part of their annual curriculum.

Casey Woods (Class of 2024) served as an IU School of Medicine AmeriCorps member with Hoosier Public Health Corps at an agency that served people experiencing homelessness. Research has demonstrated that this population is more likely to experience trauma related to healthcare that can affect their willingness to seek out care. After identifying a project that met the dual interests of the nonprofit and student, Casey conducted an IRB-approved study interviewing female clients on their reproductive health experiences. The qualitative data helped provide the nonprofit with a greater degree of understanding their clients’ needs and experiences. Casey worked with research mentors to publish her work so that healthcare professionals could be more aware of the significant trauma experienced by this population. See her article “Pressure and Pain: A Qualitative Pilot Study Describing the Complexity of Unhoused Women’s Experiences with Reproductive Care."

Lauren Earhart and James Medernach (Class of 2026) served as IU School of Medicine AmeriCorps members with Hoosier Public Health Corps at a free clinic exploring if it would be useful to begin accepting Medicaid as a way to generate additional income. The students designed a survey completed by patients and caregivers to understand how many patients had Medicaid or were eligible for Medicaid. Their findings, presented at IMPRS Symposium, included that there were opportunities to provide support in helping patients understand how to apply for Medicaid who were eligible. Lauren also completed this project as part of her Public Health Scholarly Concentration.

Kamal Singh (Class of 2027) served as an IU School of Medicine AmeriCorps member with Hoosier Public Health Corps at Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana. In discussing prospective projects and sharing his own interest in psychiatry, Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana asked to better understand the social connectedness and mental health of their clients. Kamal’s research elicited some unexpected findings, namely that the 55-59 age range showed the largest percentage of individuals severely lacking social connection. Meals on Wheels of Central Indiana decided to develop a new program for this population and in late 2025 received a $56,000 grant to implement the program — all thanks to Kamal’s research!

Tommy McEvilly (Class of 2027) served as an IU School of Medicine AmeriCorps member with Hoosier Public Health Corps with HealthNet’s Street Medicine (SM) team. He conducted a retrospective cohort study utilizes EMR data to track the frequency of emergency department visits within HIP’s client population. His analysis found that HealthNet’s SM patients’ ER visits were significantly lower than before they became SM patients.

Sydney Hornberger (Class of 2026) served as an AmeriCorps member with Hoosier Public Health Corps with the Indiana Immunization Clinic. They had a new grant to increase HPV education and vaccinations statewide. In discussing outreach to different communities, the community partner did not have connections and insights on outreach to Latino migrant farmworkers. As Sydney was enrolled in the Care of Hispanic/Latino Patients Scholarly Concentration, she conducted a literature review on the topic and worked to find local data and organizations. She was able to develop a partnership between one migrant organization and the Indiana Immunization Clinic, provide the organization with useful research and published her results: "Review of the Knowledge, Barriers, and Facilitators of HPV Vaccination among Latino Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers in the United States."

How can medical students get involved in community-engaged research?

MS1 summer opportunities

Hoosier Public Health Corps (HPHC) is the largest structured opportunity for students to participate in community-engaged research, with average annual cohorts of 18-24 students. HPHC connects medical students to nonprofits around the state to gain a critical understanding of public health issues in Indiana. This cohort-based service learning program engages students in direct service, community-engaged research, experiential learning, didactic learning and reflection throughout the summer before they commence their second year. Students in HPHC serve alongside their communities primarily as IU School of Medicine AmeriCorps members with the goal to increase capacity building for Indiana nonprofits through hands-on volunteering and collaborating with the nonprofit to develop a community-engaged research project.

Community Health Partnerships internship: Indiana Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (CTSI) hosts the Community Health Partnerships internship (CHeP) and annually accepts six to eight students. Designed for students interested in research that centers on people and communities, the program offers experience in community-engaged research. Students take a collaborative approach that prioritizes the needs and voices of the community in addressing health challenges. The students’ summer research projects addressed real-world issues such as childhood nutrition, adolescent mental health and resilience, clinical care for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and the participation of community members in cancer research. MS1s can apply through the IMPRS summer research program application.

Slemenda Scholars Program: The Slemenda Scholars program began in 1998 and honors late IU faculty member Charles Slemenda, DrPH, who had a passion for international medical education. AMPATH (Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare) is the partnership between Indiana University and Moi University in Eldoret, Kenya that works with the Kenyan Ministry of Health to provide care, train the next generation of health care providers and conduct research to improve lives around the world. The program sends two to four medical students to Eldoret to experience AMPATH by participating in rounds, collaborating on field projects and working alongside Moi University medical students. Slemenda Scholars receive a stipend of $5,000 to cover travel, lodging, food and excursions. MS1s can apply through the IMPRS summer research program application.

IMPRS: The Indiana University Medical Student Program for Research and Scholarship (IMPRS) summer research program hosts applications for CheP and Slemenda Scholars but also can have additional community-engaged research opportunities depending on available projects from faculty. Students can email imprs@iu.edu to inquire.

Scholarly Concentrations: Some scholarly concentration programs may offer additional community-engaged research opportunities to enrolled students. Students can reach out to their concentration's faculty directors to inquire.