Medical Scientist Training Program
Encyclopedia
Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTP) are combined M.D.
and Ph.D.
graduate degree
(MD/PhD
) programs offered by a small number of United States
medical schools with financial support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
(NIGMS), in recognition of the increasing need for scientists to bridge the technical gap between laboratory discoveries and producing effective treatments for the patient. There are currently 40 individual MSTPs at 45 participating institutions with a total of 933 trainees in all stages of the programs.. MSTPs exist only at the most prominent research universities, and, as of 2011, all top 20 medical school as ranked by the US News and Report had a MSTP. The most recent MSTP grant was awarded to The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2011.
Certain MSTPs offer concurrent training in clinical research, e.g. the MSCI (Master of Science in Clinical Investigation) program at Northwestern University
in downtown Chicago.
Due to federal regulations, the program grants provided by the NIH are restricted to U.S. citizens or legalized nationals. However many medical schools have MD/PhD programs that are not supported by the NIH but offer similar training opportunities and grant money. Also, many MST programs offer non-MSTP grant funded positions, allowing for non-citizens and non-legalized nationals to be accepted into the MD/PhD program at that particular school.
Interviews at MSTPs tend to focus on the applicant's past experiences in scientific research. These may include short research talks or presentations followed by rigorous questioning by an interviewer or interviewing committee. At some MSTPs, applicants may also have to interview with the MD-only program.
, government, or industry where medical research is a central component of their duties. According to a FASEB
study conducted in 2000, graduates of NIH-funded MSTPs make up just 2.5% of medical school graduates each year, but after graduation, account for about one third of all NIH research grants awarded to physicians. Many MSTP graduates also practice clinical medicine in their field of expertise.
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham MSTP allow students that have also been accepted into the Graduate Partnership Program of the NIH to complete their thesis work through this program, typically at the NIH and the University of Cambridge
(Health Sciences) or the University of Oxford
(Biomedical Sciences).
Doctor of Medicine
Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...
and Ph.D.
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
graduate degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
(MD/PhD
MD/PhD
MD/PhD refers to an education which includes both the medical training of a physician with the rigor of a scientific researcher . It can refer to the designation given to a person who has graduated from such an education, or an educational program which incorporates both curricula.-Profession:An...
) programs offered by a small number of United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
medical schools with financial support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences
National Institute of General Medical Sciences
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences is a part of the National Institutes of Health that primarily supports research that lays the foundation for advances in disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention...
(NIGMS), in recognition of the increasing need for scientists to bridge the technical gap between laboratory discoveries and producing effective treatments for the patient. There are currently 40 individual MSTPs at 45 participating institutions with a total of 933 trainees in all stages of the programs.. MSTPs exist only at the most prominent research universities, and, as of 2011, all top 20 medical school as ranked by the US News and Report had a MSTP. The most recent MSTP grant was awarded to The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 2011.
Certain MSTPs offer concurrent training in clinical research, e.g. the MSCI (Master of Science in Clinical Investigation) program at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in downtown Chicago.
Due to federal regulations, the program grants provided by the NIH are restricted to U.S. citizens or legalized nationals. However many medical schools have MD/PhD programs that are not supported by the NIH but offer similar training opportunities and grant money. Also, many MST programs offer non-MSTP grant funded positions, allowing for non-citizens and non-legalized nationals to be accepted into the MD/PhD program at that particular school.
Admissions
Admission to MSTPs is the most competitive of all graduate medical education programs, with only 170 positions available nationwide each year for 1,779 applicants (a 9.6% acceptance rate). In comparison MD-only programs had 42,742 applicants for 18,665 positions (a 44% acceptance rate).. Applicants must have strong MCAT scores and GPAs to be considered for interviews. Reflecting this fact, from 2008 to 2010 the average GPA and MCAT for matriculates to MSTPs was 3.76 and 34.5, respectively. MSTP applicants will often have strong research experience as well.Interviews at MSTPs tend to focus on the applicant's past experiences in scientific research. These may include short research talks or presentations followed by rigorous questioning by an interviewer or interviewing committee. At some MSTPs, applicants may also have to interview with the MD-only program.
Financial Support
MSTP matriculates receive substantial financial awards that make them financially competitive to their MD-only counterparts even with the longer training periods. These allowances cover all tuition expenses, provide travel and supply allowances, and accommodate living expenses through an annual stipend (ranging from $22,000 to $32,000). Due to these monetary grants, MSTP trainees often graduate with little to no debt.Career Path
The vast majority (over 80%) of MD/PhD graduates eventually choose to enter academiaAcademia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
, government, or industry where medical research is a central component of their duties. According to a FASEB
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
The Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, abbreviated FASEB, is a non-profit organization that is the principal umbrella organization of U.S. societies in the field of biological and medical research. FASEB organizes academic conferences and publishes scientific literature...
study conducted in 2000, graduates of NIH-funded MSTPs make up just 2.5% of medical school graduates each year, but after graduation, account for about one third of all NIH research grants awarded to physicians. Many MSTP graduates also practice clinical medicine in their field of expertise.
Non-MSTP MD/PhD and DO/PhD programs
A number of medical and osteopathic schools without funded NIH MSTP grant slots maintain their own non-MSTP MD/PhD or DO/PhD combined degree programs, sometimes offering full or partial student financial support funded by the schools themselves. Currently 75 institutions provide a means for non-MSTP MD/PhD training. There are also 7 DO/PhD programs in the country.Allied-Institution programs
Additionally, several medical schools allow for the PhD portion of the MSTP to be completed at an allied institution, where research in specific fields may be stronger than at the home institution. Such alliances include:- The University of California, San DiegoUniversity of California, San DiegoThe University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
and the Salk InstituteSalk Institute for Biological StudiesThe Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a premier independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, California. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building...
, The Scripps Research InstituteThe Scripps Research InstituteThe Scripps Research Institute is an American medical research facility that focuses on research in the basic biomedical sciences. Headquartered in La Jolla, California, with a sister facility in Jupiter, Florida, the institute is home to 3,000 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and...
, and the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute - The University of Colorado, Denver and the The University of Colorado at Boulder
- Harvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical SchoolHarvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
and the Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in... - The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD ProgramTri-Institutional MD-PhD ProgramThe Tri-Institutional MD-PhD, or Tri-I, program is an innovative biomedical partnership between the Weill Cornell Medical College , The Rockefeller University and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center...
(Weill Cornell Medical College and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer CenterMemorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer CenterMemorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
and The Rockefeller University) - The University of Pittsburgh School of MedicineUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicineThe University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine is a medical school located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. The School of Medicine is also known as Pitt Med, and is ranked as a “top medical school” by U.S. News & World Report in the publication's categories of research and primary care...
and Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
http://www.mdphd.pitt.edu/ - The University of California, San FranciscoUniversity of California, San FranciscoThe University of California, San Francisco is one of the world's leading centers of health sciences research, patient care, and education. UCSF's medical, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and graduate schools are among the top health science professional schools in the world...
School of Medicine and the University of California, BerkeleyUniversity of California, BerkeleyThe University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA... - Stony Brook University and Cold Spring Harbor LaboratoryCold Spring Harbor LaboratoryThe Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory is a private, non-profit institution with research programs focusing on cancer, neurobiology, plant genetics, genomics and bioinformatics. The Laboratory has a broad educational mission, including the recently established Watson School of Biological Sciences. It...
and Brookhaven National LaboratoryBrookhaven National LaboratoryBrookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base... - The University of California, Los AngelesUniversity of California, Los AngelesThe University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
David GeffenDavid GeffenDavid Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990...
School of Medicine and the California Institute of TechnologyCalifornia Institute of TechnologyThe California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering... - The Emory University School of MedicineEmory UniversityEmory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and the Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
. - SUNY Downstate Medical CenterSUNY Downstate Medical CenterThe State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn, better known as SUNY Downstate Medical Center, is a public university and medical center located in central Brooklyn, New York and the only academic center for health education, research, and patient care serving Brooklyn’s 2.5...
and Polytechnic Institute of New York University. - Case Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve UniversityCase Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...
and the Cleveland ClinicCleveland ClinicThe Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
. - The Indiana University School of MedicineIndiana University School of MedicineThe Indiana University School of Medicine is a leading medical school and medical research powerhouse connected to Indiana University. With several teaching campuses in the state, the School of Medicine has its predominant research and medical center at the Indiana University – Purdue University...
and Purdue UniversityPurdue UniversityPurdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and... - The Baylor College of MedicineBaylor College of MedicineBaylor College of Medicine, located in the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, USA, is a highly regarded medical school and leading center for biomedical research and clinical care...
and Rice UniversityRice UniversityWilliam Marsh Rice University, commonly referred to as Rice University or Rice, is a private research university located on a heavily wooded campus in Houston, Texas, United States...
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
, Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine
Mount Sinai School of Medicine is an American medical school in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, currently ranked among the top 20 medical schools in the United States. It was chartered by Mount Sinai Hospital in 1963....
, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham MSTP allow students that have also been accepted into the Graduate Partnership Program of the NIH to complete their thesis work through this program, typically at the NIH and the University of Cambridge
University of Cambridge
The University of Cambridge is a public research university located in Cambridge, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest university in both the United Kingdom and the English-speaking world , and the seventh-oldest globally...
(Health Sciences) or the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
(Biomedical Sciences).