Medical Research Scholars Program

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

There is a compelling national need to train a new generation of scientists who are well prepared to advance translational biology. At the same time, the growing desire among a robust cohort of our most talented students to obtain a sophisticated understanding of human disease and to utilize their training to create novel solutions and expedite application to humans presents tremendous opportunity. To capitalize on this aspiration, we are excited to propose this Medical Research Scholars Program (MRSP), a Certificate-based interdisciplinary training program designed for highly motivated predoctoral students to apply their curiosity, creativity and drive to problems arising from the pathogenesis of human diseases. This new interdisciplinary program is career enriching and will facilitate the long-term engagement of Scholars with mentors and peers during and after the predoctoral period to foster collaboration and expand the network of translational science. The MRSP is designed to be complementary and concurrent with the programs within the aegis of Yale’s Combined Program in Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS), allowing scholars to pursue in depth their individualized research and dissertation goals while acquiring the breadth of skills, background, and emotional intelligence needed to contribute productively to future careers that leverage translational science. The major elements of the formal curriculum are: 1. Core Courses providing a foundation in biomedical sciences using contemporary, active learning pedagogical techniques in interactive classrooms; 2. the Mentored Clinical Experience (MCE), the lynchpin of the MRSP, which exposes students to four dimensions of a human disease: 1) clinical manifestations and pathogenesis; 2) contemporary diagnostics & therapeutics; 3) direct interaction with patients in a mentored setting; and 4) cutting edge research & unaddressed scientific challenges. As important as the formal curriculum, 3. Career Development Activities to promote expression of the unique interests of each Scholar through an extended relationship with a clinician mentor, critical thinking exercises with peer teams, sharing of respective research, and community building through supplemental components, such as “beyond the bench” and “lunches with leaders”, engagement with other predoctoral students pursuing translational research at Yale, and an Annual Symposium. The primary objective of the MRSP is to attract and prepare our Scholars to be leaders with sustained careers in academia, industry, and other research-related paths. Outcomes will be measured using self-assessment and reflection, regular surveys of current and alumni scholars, and long-term tracking of career choices and endeavors. This translational research training program enjoys the commitment from our institution manifest by stipend support for the first year of pre-doctoral training, the administrative infrastructure for the MRSP, and the Career Development components. Furthermore, the MRSP will take advantage of the deep biomedical sciences applicant pool at Yale as well as the extraordinary research strengths of the faculty in the basic and translational sciences.