VCOM Clinical, Biomedical, and Educational Research

Submission Guidelines and Channel Overview

The VCOM Clinical, Biomedical, and Educational Research Academic Channel showcases our faculty, student, and resident scholarship, providing a platform to publish and share peer-reviewed research and scholarly activities. We welcome investigations that reflect the research mission and academic values of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). Please review the submission criteria and research focus areas outlined below.

Submission Criteria

To maintain academic integrity and mentorship in student-led research, submissions must meet the following authorship requirements:

• At least one author must be affiliated with VCOM. While students often submit articles and list a senior author as the corresponding author after publication, any submission must include at least one VCOM-affiliated author (student, faculty, or preceptor).
  For tracking and channel organization purposes, it is strongly recommended that VCOM-affiliated authors submit the manuscript.
• At least one author must hold a doctoral-level degree (e.g., DO, MD, PhD, DDS/DMD, NP, PA, RN), regardless of institutional affiliation.
• The faculty advisor must be listed as an author for all student submissions. This individual may be a VCOM faculty member, preceptor, or clinician who actively participated in the research process.

Accepted Article Types

The following article types are accepted for consideration:

• Original Research
• Review Articles
• Technical Reports
• Editorials
• Case Reports

Please refer to the Cureus page Accepted Article Types for details on each category.

Review Process

All submissions undergo a two-stage internal pre-review by VCOM before being routed through the Cureus editorial and peer review processes:

1. Grammar and Technical Review
2. Scientific Content Review

VCOM’s channel follows the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals issued by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

All manuscripts must adhere to Cureus editorial guidelines.

Case Reports

Submissions of systematic reviews and meta-analyses must adhere to the CARE Guidelines: Consensus-based Clinical Case Reporting Guideline Development. Visit https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/care/ for PRISMA resources.

Original Research

Submissions of original research must adhere to the relevant reporting guideline: CONSORT for randomized trials; STROBE for observational studies, ARRIVE for animal pre-clinical studies, SQUIRE for quality improvement studies, etc. Visit https://www.equator-network.org for the relevant resources.

Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses

Submissions of systematic reviews and meta-analyses must adhere to PRISMA guidelines. Authors should:

• Include a completed PRISMA checklist and flow diagram
• Indicate whether a protocol exists (and provide it as supplemental material if so)
• Optionally register their review (e.g., via PROSPERO) and include the registry number
• Clearly identify the article as a systematic review or meta-analysis in the title, abstract, or full text

Visit https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/prisma/ for PRISMA resources.

 

Research at VCOM

The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is committed to advancing scientific knowledge to improve human health, with a particular emphasis on addressing health disparities in rural and underserved populations. The College fosters a scholarly environment that supports faculty development and student engagement in research, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration across a range of research domains:

• Clinical Research: Focused on behavioral medicine, disease prevention, health education, and managing chronic conditions common in underserved populations, especially in the southern Appalachia and Delta regions.
• Biomedical Research: Encompasses oncology, neurological injury and neurodegenerative disease, osteopathic neuro-musculoskeletal treatment, and the efficacy of osteopathic manipulative treatment.
• Educational Research: Investigates simulation-based learning, innovative teaching methods, and assessment tools to improve medical education outcomes.
• Population Health and Community-based Research: Addresses environmental health, healthcare disparities, and access to care through community-engaged research. Real-time data collection is supported by VCOM’s cloud-based Via Learning Management System (VLMS)

Please note that all submissions must adhere to the Cureus editorial guidelines