UC Davis DVM/PhD Medical Scientist Training Program

University Of California At Davis, Davis CA

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Recruitment and retention of highly qualified biomedical scientists, especially clinician-scientists with a DVM degree, continues to be one of the most challenging issues facing the broader research community and academic veterinary programs around the country. In response, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine initiated the Veterinary Scientist Training Program (VSTP) in 2000. It is the second oldest continuous veterinary scientist training program in the nation. Our DVM/PhD program has continued to flourish with the MSTP T32 support. This is the first competing renewal application for this MSTP T32. To date, 43 graduates have completed the VSTP program with a dual DVM/PhD. Twenty-six of our graduates have gone on to become leaders in academia, government agencies, and industry research. Eleven recent graduates are still at an early stage of their post-DVM clinical training and/or postdoctoral training. Thus, more than 80% of our VSTP graduates are using their research training to advance their careers. Our mission is to prepare our students with dual DVM/PhD degrees to become exceptional veterinary scientists engaged in basic and translational research to advance the health of people and animals. The goal of our MSTP T32 training program is to provide an outstanding program for both clinical and biomedical research training at the nation's top-ranked Schools of Veterinary Medicine, Medicine and Colleges of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Biological Sciences, Letters, and Science and Engineering. Most of our training faculty participate in established Centers and Institutes that promote collaborations and employ evidence-based approaches to solving scientific problems through state-of-the-art equipment in individual labs and shared campus facilities. Our VSTP program hosts several student-centered activities, some of which are jointly organized with the MD/PhD program, to create unique learning opportunities in comparative medicine. Our students are an integral part of this dynamic program and promote the excellence of the program through their research and student mentoring. Our objectives and intended outcomes for this T32 training grant are to: 1) prepare all of our trainees to become future leaders in academia, government service, and public health, 2) provide greater exposure to career paths outside academia, 3) sustain the average time (8 years) to degree, 4) and increase the number of DVM/PhD trainees in training at UC Davis from 28 to 32.