Training PhD researchers to translate science to clinical medicine: Closing the gap from the other side

PhD graduate training programs in pathology: 2003 report from the American Society for Investigative Pathology workshop on pathology graduate education

“…Other institutions identified by workshop participants (Johns Hopkins; University of California, San Francisco [UCSF]; University of California, Berkeley; and Purdue) also provide medical exposures for biomedical engineering students. 5 Following the Tufts and Harvard-Markey examples, other institutions created opportunities for disease-related training for their graduate students. UCSF; University of California, San Diego (UCSD); and Washington University-St. Louis, among others, set up programs that were also designed to bridge the gap (see Table 1 for Web addresses as of January 2004).…”

Integrating clinical perspectives into graduate education

“…While this decline can be partially addressed by M.D.-Ph.D. programs, the length and nature of these programs does not make them ideal for many students interested in translational research, leading to an increasing need for Ph.D. scientists to conduct mechanistic, clinically related research. Across the United States, a number of institutions have designed innovative programs designed to yield focused clinical exposure for biomedical engineering 2 , neuroscience 3 , immunology and biomedical informatics programs 7 , among others, along with careful consideration of designing translational research training programs in a more general sense 8 . In addition, a recent $10 million training grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), developed to foster the training of future translational researchers, has allowed 13 graduate schools across the US to modify their Ph.D. curricula 9 .…”

“…A number of programs have individually undertaken coursework or curricula to introduce various populations of Ph.D. students to clinical information 2, 7, 12 . Faculty members are trying to identify best practices, and through the HHMI training grant to 13 programs, the dissemination of best practices may be forthcoming 9 .…”

Strategies for teaching pathology to graduate students and allied health professionals

“…Master of Science (MS) and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) training programs in pathology are widely accepted. Just as pathology provides a bridge between the basic sciences and clinical medicine in medical school, graduate pathology training programs can help close the gap between basic research and clinical application [2,3]. Allied health professionals continue to view pathophysiology as the foundation of their basic science curriculum.…”