University of Washington Medical Scientist Training Program

University Of Washington, Seattle WA

Investigators

Abstract

Enter the text here that is the new abstract information for your application. This section must be no longer than 30 lines of text. The University of Washington (UW) Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) was established in 1970 and is the only MD-PhD program in the Pacific Northwest, comprising a quarter of the nation’s land mass. Our program has thus far produced over 300 graduates, most of whom have been employed in scientific research throughout their careers. Our goal is to build an educational pipeline leading to the development of a highly well qualified group of trainees and equip them with the skills, mentorship, role models, and motivation required to advance the frontiers of biomedical science and technology. Among multiple accomplishments, students and graduates of our program created the Apple Macintosh computer and one of the first enzyme replacement therapies for metabolic disease, have provided fundamental insights into the nature of stem cells, the sequence and structure of the human genome, and have led similarly successful MD-PhD programs elsewhere, thereby exponentially amplifying our program’s impact on training the next generation of physician-scientists. Our competitive program has grown to comprise approximately one-fifth of all medical students in Seattle. For each offer of admission, we receive over 23 training grant-eligible applications. Our trainees carry out their PhD research with UW faculty mentors at the UW, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (Hutch), Seattle Children's Hospital Research Institute, and Benaroya Research Institute. Current trainees' PhD departments and programs include Molecular and Cellular Biology, Neuroscience, Genome Sciences, Bioengineering, Computer Science, Molecular Engineering, Chemistry, and Epidemiology. They are mentored by a highly trained group of 81 well-funded and distinguished faculty drawn from across ranks, who emphasize and practice responsible, reproducible science. Our program integrates medical and graduate education, while reducing redundancy. Mean time to completion is on a shortening trajectory, with minimal attrition. Graduates published a mean of 6.7 peer-reviewed papers, including 2.8 as first-authors, many of which are exceptionally impactful. Nearly all graduates go on to research-related residencies at leading institutions, predominantly in fields conducive to long-term retention in research. We continually evaluate our outcomes, measure our progress toward its overarching objective of producing physician-scientists pushing the envelope at the interface of science and medicine, and iteratively evolve our program to stay at the forefront of evidence-based innovations in training practices.