1/ A wonderful “state of the physician scientist” training overview of what programs are doing to support us along the continuum of medical education and training. Hard to break in unless starting in a dedicated program or with grant support.
2/ With T32/F31 @NIHgrants only available for MD/PhDs, the entry point for non-PhD MDs took a major hit with the ending of the @HHMINEWS HHMI Med Fellows program. For me this was a major accelerator.
3/ To get into a great MD/PhD program, now ~2 gap years in a lab is nearly a requirement, further increasing the age of trainees when completing residency, yet still needing additional “instructor” aka post-doc years. Financial/family struggles influence career pathways
4/ I didn’t expect to get the research “bug” like I did. I was lucky to have @ClevelandClinic @CCLRI set me up in Jarek Maciejewski’s lab where I was hooked! Then the @HHMINEWS program gave me credibility as a non-PhD physician scientist trainee.
5/ But the guy who helped me put it all together was the superlative mentor, colleague, and friend @rosslevinemd. Vision, guidance, and never ending enthusiasm. This guys cares about his trainees like no one I’ve ever met.
6/ So I attest that programmatically facilitating @A_P_S_A development is moving in the right direction, but how do we harness the “mentorship mojo” of Jarek and Ross? How do we inspire the next generation?
7/ Substantial help along the way was also provided by @ASH_hematology @DamonRunyon and @EdwardPEvansFdn, foundations that really “get it”. We advance medical science through research. Plain and simple.
8/ I’ve also been very lucky and also had significantly fewer barriers than many others in order to stay on this track. I do not discount this or take it for granted.
9/ But it’s a hugely challenging undertaking and with bigger financial “reward” in fields like finance/biotech. How do we attract talented people in science and medicine?
10/ Need “best & brightest” in science & Medicine: @bowman_rl @shengfcai @KhoriatyRami @AshKishtagari @Ghoshomy @DrTedPBraun @MTavakkoli @HmzaCelik @ganetzky1 @HmzaCelik @IntlekoferLab @TaylorJ_MD @juliamaxson @JoannaS_Yi @KarunaMDPhD @Gritsman_lab @zxtzhangqian @Samuel_Bakhoum
