Graduate Training in Medical Sciences
Certificate Option for Students in a Biomedical Graduate Studies Doctoral Program
Click here for a copy of this program's brochure (pdf)
Introduction
Given the increasing intersection between basic and clinical medicine, there is a need for basic scientists who have a strong understanding of human biology and physiology and who can effectively interact with clinical scientists to address medical relevant research problems. BGS’ Graduate Training in Medical Sciences (GTMS) Certificate Program has been established to meet this need by integrating focused medical education into the graduate curriculum.
Admissions
| Applicants will apply to the GTMS Certificate Program at the time they apply to BGS. Their personal statement should reflect their interest in medicine in addition to the doctoral discipline. A special admissions committee will consider applicants to GTMS and will participate in the interview process. Only students accepted into a BGS doctoral program will be considered for admission to the GTMS program. Alternatively, students in the first year of training may be considered for the program if they demonstrate strong motivation and ability; interested students should submit a paragraph describing their interest in this training program to the BGS office by January 1.
Whereas admission to the doctoral programs is made on a rolling basis starting in late January, admissions decisions for the GTMS program will not be made until March. |
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Training
BIOM 600 – Cell Biology (taken by most BGS students) – Fall
CAMB/PHRM 542 – Topics in Molecular Medicine – Fall
(taken in lieu of graduate group first year seminar)
BIOM 501 – Cell Pathology – Initial offering in Fall 2006; will be a Spring course after that
2nd Year
BIOM 502/503 - The Disease Modules
GTMS students will be required to conduct a clerkship with specific medical faculty in areas closely related to their thesis research. These faculty are physician scientists whose research bridges the clinical field of interest and are members of BGS graduate groups and thus active in graduate education. In these half-semester clerkships, the PhD student will shadow the physician-scientist in his or her clinical duties. The clerkship mentor will also assign readings and/or case studies to the student and meet with the student on a weekly basis to discuss the readings and the application of research discovery to clinical practice. The clerkship is a unique component to the program; through these clerkships, graduate students will receive first-hand experience in the integration of basic research and clinical practice. Approximately 40% of BGS faculty (230) are MDs or MD/PhDs in clinical departments. Ideally, the clerkship mentor will also serve on the student’s Thesis Committee. In addition, BGS is partnering with Centocor, Inc. to allow students to do research rotations in industry and learn how basic science translates to drug discovery or explore laboratory techniques for identifying biomarkers of disease progression and resolution.
GTMS 505 – Bench to Bedside Courses
GTMS students select among more than a dozen elective courses, mostly in seminar format, that tie their medical and basic research training and deepen their appreciation for disease mechanisms and translational medicine. Students at this stage are also encouraged to take relevant Masters in Translational Research (MTR) courses, including MTR 601 (Human Study Design) and MTR 602 (Regulatory and Ethical Issues in Human Experimentation) or Biostatistics and Epidemiology courses, such as EPID 502 (Fundaments of Medical Research: Introduction to Biostatistics).
Thesis Work – Additional Elements
BGS students assemble their thesis committees after passing preliminary examinations in the second year of study. They meet with the committee on at least a yearly basis thereafter. The thesis committee is the student’s advocate and advises the student on scientific direction, determines when the student can proceed to writing the thesis, and approves the final written thesis and oral defense. Thesis committees are chosen jointly by the student and graduate program and are composed of faculty with expertise in the area of thesis research. For GTMS students, the Advisory Board will help in the selection of this committee. At least one member of the thesis committee for GTMS students will be a clinician scientist from an appropriate field, such as the clerkship mentor, to help the student integrate the clinical training into the thesis project.
Program Directors, Advisory Board, and Staff
The GTMS Program Director is Dr. Mitchell Lewis, and the co-director is Dr. Carolyn Cambor, who also serves as Curriculum Director. The GTMS Program reports to Dr. Susan Ross, Associate Dean for Graduate Education in the School of Medicine, and Director of BGS.
The Advisory Board consists of the following individuals:
- Lawrence Brass, MD/PhD
- Beverly Emanuel, PhD
- Garret FitzGerald, MD
- Gary Koretzky, MD/PhD
- Mitchell Lazar, MD/PhD
- Virginia Lee, PhD/MBA
- Emma Meagher, MD
- Gail Morrison, MD
- Susan Ross, PhD (ex officio)
- Robert Sarisky, PhD, MBA
- Brian Strom, MD, MPH
- Craig Thompson, MD
GTMS is staffed by the BGS Office.