Grad School for Physician-Scientists Fills National Void
Newswise — The North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System today held its first commencement ceremony for the first graduate of the North Shore-LIJ Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, a highly selective PhD program that trains physicians for careers in medical research. By providing free, individualized training — no more than a handful of students are enrolled in any given year — for physicians who desire a career in medical research, the graduate school is helping to fill a void that has been mounting for the past several decades.
"The physician-scientist is an endangered species," said Bettie Steinberg, PhD, dean of the graduate school and chief scientific officer of The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, which operates the school for the health system. "The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has convened meetings on the crisis of the disappearing physician-scientist. As a result, over the past few years, the NIH has launched new funding mechanisms aimed at supporting research for young physician investigators and assisting them with loan repayment in an attempt to revitalize and repopulate the pool."
Fewer young physicians are entering research, partly because of a lack of emphasis on research in many medical schools and residency and fellowship programs, but also because of the financial uncertainty of a career in medical research. Also to blame are declining NIH funding rates for both new and seasoned investigators, coupled with the enormous debt incurred during medical education, which often forces young physicians into clinical practice — a more lucrative path — upon completion of training.
The North Shore-LIJ Graduate School of Molecular Medicine, which is accredited to grant a PhD degree in molecular medicine to young physicians who successfully complete the three-year program, was taken over by North Shore-LIJ in 2002 at a time when enrollment was down to zero. The school had previously been established and operated by the now-defunct Picower Institute for Medical Research, an affiliated research enterprise that had rented laboratory space from The Feinstein prior to ceasing operations in late 2001.
The New York State Board of Regents and Commissioner of Education, a nationally recognized institutional accrediting agency, recently reaccredited the graduate school for seven years. Enrollment is being staged, with a goal of no more than 12 students in total at any given time, or about four new students per year. Today's graduate, Max Brenner, MD, PhD, leads the new generation of physician-scientists at North Shore-LIJ, with plans to stay at The Feinstein as a postdoctoral fellow to continue his research in the area of rheumatoid arthritis in the Laboratory of Experimental Rheumatology, led by Percio Gulko, MD.
"During my thesis research with Dr. Gulko, I discovered that a specific gene region that regulates autoimmune arthritis appears to also regulate a special subset of immune cells. We are excited to pursue this further to gain new insights into how the immune system is regulated in general," said Dr. Brenner. This November, Dr. Brenner plans to present new findings made during his training in the graduate program at the American College of Rheumatology's annual scientific meeting in Washington, DC. Dr. Brenner has already generated five journal publications from his thesis research and is currently preparing three more manuscripts.
The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is one of only a handful of research institutions in the nation to offer this kind of PhD program, especially to such a small student body. Many medical schools offer combined MD-PhD programs with the specific goal of training physician-scientists, but the majority of graduates from these programs become clinicians and do no further research.
"Most applicants to traditional MD-PhD programs are college seniors who have not yet had the experience to help them choose the career path that will fulfill them. By targeting and training young physicians, like Dr. Brenner, who discovered they have a passion for research during medical school or residency and have committed to a career in research, North Shore-LIJ's program is becoming the new model for training physician-scientists," said Lawrence G. Smith, MD, chief academic officer and senior vice president of academic affairs at the North Shore-LIJ Health System.
The North Shore-LIJ Graduate School of Molecular Medicine's three-year program involves an individually tailored curriculum, with a strong emphasis on laboratory work designed to train exceptional physicians who have recently earned their MD degrees in research methodologies. There are no tuition charges or other fees. Students accepted to and enrolled in the highly specialized program are paid a salary commensurate with their post-graduate-year level of medical training.
Physician-scientists have a unique approach to research, distinguished by the types of questions they ask because of their involvement with sick patients.
"We're not just training clinicians to do research. We're training people with a strong foundation in molecular biology who will be able to bridge the gap between the laboratories and the clinical research, or even more simply put, between science and people," said Dr. Steinberg.
The requirements of the doctoral degree are heavily weighted toward conduct and completion of a substantial scholarly body of research, culminating in a written thesis. The thesis is coupled with a focused core curriculum that builds on the basic science courses taken during medical school. The graduate school offers additional academic programs that enrich the curriculum, including weekly seminars by Feinstein Institute investigators, weekly seminars by external invited speakers, The Feinstein Institute's annual Distinguished Visiting Scientist lecture and scientific retreat, and a workshop on grantsmanship. Doctoral students also participate in journal clubs and attend and submit abstracts for presentation at national and international scientific conferences. The Feinstein Institute and the North Shore-LIJ Health System provide stipends to the students for travel to meetings.
About The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
Located in Manhasset, NY, and an integral part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is among the top six percent of all institutions nationally that receive funding from the National Institutes of Health. Building on its strengths in immunology and inflammation, oncology and cell biology, human genetics, and neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, its goal is to understand the biological processes that underlie various diseases and translate this knowledge into new tools for diagnosis and treatment.
About the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Health System
The nation's third largest, non-profit, secular healthcare system, the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System provides care for people at all stages of illness throughout Long Island, Queens and Staten Island — a service area encompassing more than five million people. The health system includes 15 hospitals, four long-term care facilities, a medical research institute, four trauma centers, five home health agencies and dozens of outpatient centers. North Shore-LIJ facilities house more than 6,000 beds, and are staffed by over 8,000 physicians, 10,000 nurses and a total workforce of about 37,500 — the largest employer on Long Island and the ninth largest in New York City.
Key contact information:
New York State Education Department
Office of College and University Evaluation
5 North Mezzanine
Albany, NY 12234
(518) 474-2593
North Shore-LIJ Graduate School of Molecular Medicine
350 Community Drive
Manhasset, NY 11030
(516) 562-1159
http://www.northshorelij.com/gradschool
