The coming year will be a busy one, with changes to our annual retreat (Oct. 12th), 
activities to build on our training in unconscious bias, and efforts to develop a new professional skills course that has been funded by NIH. Happily, our NIH application to renew the MSTP T32 Training grant received a very good score, so it will be tally ho with the program and we even received an increase in funding for this year from 9 to 15 lines. I would like to thank all the students, staff and faculty who contributed to the successful renewal.
The program continues to evolve in many aspects, including the training of a growing number of biomedical informatics students and a stream-lined preclinical curriculum that allows for more research time during the PhD training phase, earlier undertaking of clerkships, and time and funding to return to the research lab or have a new research experience in the last year of training. Match outcomes continue to be excellent, with all of the students entering into residency training at one of their top choices; virtually all of the graduates pursue physician-scientist training programs or enter into training programs with a strong emphasis on research. Applications to the program also continue to be strong. We typically receive almost 300 applications from across the nation and interview a balanced selection of the applicants holistically selected for the qualifications we have found most important for success in the physician-scientist career path. We are proud that our student body is highly diverse, not just in the traditional sense, but as well in being highly-talented individuals with an extraordinary range of interests that complement their scientific prowess. It’s also been great over the past 16 years to see the development of an MD-PhD trainee culture here that creates deep bonds between the students – if they all like and support each other and hang out together, we must be doing something right!
Graduating MSTP Class Goes Into Premier Residencies
As we bid our 7 graduates good bye with a festive reception at the Old Field Club, we are very proud to see them go to premier residencies at the countries top medical schools.
Students host Advocates of Women in Science and Medicine Symposium
MSTP student Margaret Shevik and the newly founded Women of MSTP group hosted on May 11 the first Northeast Regional Advocates of Women in Science and Medicine Symposium. A day-long program of lectures, podium discussions and workshop brought together 115 participants from 13 disciplines at 4 Institutions.
You are not alone – Student hosted Event highlights Impact of Mental Illness
Mental Illness affects the lives of many students, staff and faculty. MSTP students Dr. Raja Pillai PhD (MS4), and Kathryn Hill (GS1) co-hosted “You are not Alone”. Nuri Kim interviews Raja about this moving event.
Featured MSTP Student – Dr. Alexander Jares, PhD
Alex recently defended his thesis in Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology. He engineered stem cells from umbilical cord blood to derive an allogeneic source of blood vessels for ischemic disease.