The genetic architecture of the human cerebral cortex

The cerebral cortex underlies our complex cognitive capabilities, yet little is known about the specific genetic loci that influence human cortical structure. To identify genetic variants that affect cortical structure, we conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of brain magnetic resonance imaging data from 51,665 individuals. We analyzed the surface area and average thickness of the whole cortex and 34 regions with known functional specializations. We identified 199 significant loci and found significant enrichment for loci influencing total surface area within regulatory elements that are active during prenatal cortical development, supporting the radial unit hypothesis. Loci that affect regional surface area cluster near genes in Wnt signaling pathways, which influence progenitor expansion and areal identity. Variation in cortical structure is genetically correlated with cognitive function, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, depression, neuroticism, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

Orthopaedic Surgery Residents Perspectives on the Roles and Tasks Effective to Becoming a Competent Physician: A Mixed Methods Study

In Canada, residents’ views on which roles and tasks are effective to becoming a competent physician is not yet part of the research discourse. Ensuring that competency-based curriculum (CBC) objectives are aligned with competencies and evaluation methods is critical to build a curriculum that will produce competent physicians. This research reports on the residents' views of the current Orthopaedic Surgery curriculum (UofT) which is solely competency-based. The residents' views were explored about which CanMEDS Roles and Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA’s) would be important to develop for them to become competent physicians. This study employed a mixed methodology. The individual interviews were from CBC orthopaedic surgery residents and the survey respondents were orthopaedic surgery regular time-based stream and competency-based stream residents. This research provides a better understanding of the resident experience so that educational practice and residency education can influence decisions around the curriculum design in postgraduate competency-based medical education programs.MAS

Postgraduate Medical Education (PGME) Selection and Admissions: Intentions and Perceptions

This study explores residents’ and faculty members’ experiences of the selection and admissions process in postgraduate medical education (PGME). The purpose of the study is to understand how postgraduate residency programs make selection and admissions decisions and how residents believe those decisions are made. Faculty and residents from a Family Medicine program and a Paediatrics program at a large university were interviewed to determine the potential degree of alignment between the programs’ intended selection and admissions processes and the residents’ perceptions of these processes. This research provides an opportunity for participants to reflect on their experiences in their role as an applicant, a committee member, a file reviewer, an interviewer and/or an administrator in the PGME selection and admissions process. Gaining a better understanding of the intentions and perceptions of the PGME selection and admissions process from both faculty and residents has the potential to enhance the PGME selection and admissions process through increased transparency and common understanding of faculty members’ and residents’ experiences. Individual interviews were conducted with faculty to understand how postgraduate residency programs make admissions decisions. Individual interviews were conducted with residents to determine how they believe those decisions are made. Borrowing elements from a phenomenological methodological approach within an interpretivist research paradigm allowed for flexibility in the way data were collected and analyzed Both faculty and residents viewed the process as complex and difficult to navigate. The two groups differed in their perceptions of the characteristics of the ideal applicant, the relative weights of selection criteria, possible biases of the selection committee, red flags, the best methodologies for selecting applicants, and common vulnerabilities in the process. The discussion highlights the importance of faculty members’ and residents’ development of their individual and professional identity through the PGME selection and admissions process. Findings of this study can inform future decisions in refining the process and communications about the process.Ph.D