Career Development
Many of our graduates have indicated that they are willing to directly speak to students interested in their training path or current work, and the Directors facilitate these connections during advising meetings. We also highlight the career trajectories of physician-scientist graduates of our and other MD-PhD programs during our annual Retreat, through panel discussions that feature alumni of Yale’s and other MSTP program who are engaged in non-academic careers as well as those at different faculty stages. We also organize informal small group discussions focused either on a specific stage of training (e.g. research residencies in different specialties) or on career opportunities in a field (e.g. basic, translational and patient-centered research careers in Neurology and Psychiatry with representative faculty). Many of the programmatic activities that provide dual-degree students with the skills and experience to attain interesting positions that make use of their training are briefly summarized here:
Exposure to physician-scientist mentors and faculty in a broad range of clinical specialties
Our participating faculty includes physician-scientists in both traditional areas of practice (Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Pathology, Neurology) as well as those less commonly represented, such as Vascular, Orthopedic and Neuro-surgery, Therapeutic Radiology, and Dermatology. Our students meet these faculty through classes, MD-PhD program activities, and as lab and clinical mentors; they are paired with them whenever possible for longitudinal clinical electives and shadowing. This exposure throughout the time of training allows students to see how research can be incorporated into a wide range of clinical areas.
Lectureships that bring successful physician-scientists into contact with students
Multiple named lectureships—Folkers, Farr, Leadership in Biomedicine, Perspectives of Women in Science—not only bring prominent physician-scientists to campus but are also constructed to allow students to meet directly with the speaker for discussions of career choice and trajectory. The MD-PhD program also partners with other departments throughout YSM to identify MD-PhD alumni speakers returning to campus, and to create opportunities for students to meet with them during their visits.
Courses that focus on experiential learning of skills necessary for career success
The “Curriculum in Leadership and Research Management”, as well as “Skill Development for Diverse Scientific Careers” are specific courses designed to introduce MD-PhD students to careers outside as well as within academia, and to provide them with training and practice in skills necessary for success in these domains.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
MD-PhD students have been active participants in Yale’s growing interactions with the biotechnology and pharma sectors. The Office of Cooperative Research and the Blavatnik fund sponsor access to funding and mentorship; several MD-PhD students pitched ideas at the recent May 2019 Yale Innovation Summit, and 5th year student Eric Song won the “Most Innovative Solution” prize for his project “Immunaxis: Leveraging meningeal lymphatics to treat brain cancer.”