Dual Degree Program Physician Scientist MD/PhD

The MD/PhD program allows students to integrate their medical education with intense research training by selecting a training mentor from one of the following research concentration areas:

• Neuroscience, neuropharmacology
• Cancer biology, experimental oncology
• Immunology and infectious disease
• Medical physiology and biochemistry
• Biomedical engineering

Once a research training mentor is selected, the student will be enrolled in the PhD program with which the mentor is academically affiliated. The research concentration areas include mentors affiliated with the following programs:

• Biochemistry
• Biomedical Engineering
• Microbiology and Immunology
• Molecular and Cell Biology and Genetics
• Neuroscience
• Pharmacology and Physiology

MD/PhD students learn the fundamental clinical aspects of medicine and receive advanced training in a specific field of research. Physicians with extensive research training are uniquely positioned to advance medical care and to teach at the cutting edge of medical discovery.

Drexel University College of Medicine American Physician Scientists Association Chapter

The Drexel University College of Medicine American Physician Scientists Association Chapter (apsa.ducom@gmail.com) was established in 2015 with the goal of enriching the education path of medical and graduate students. In extension of the purpose of the National APSA Organization, the College of Medicine APSA chapter has been established for the purpose of promoting academic and personal success, forging future leaders, and advancing science and medicine within our community. More specifically, the APSA chapter will allow its members to:

• Build relationships with faculty members and medical professionals
• Participate in extended training programs for aspiring physician-scientists
• Acquire a better understanding of medical research and related principles
• Meet, network with, and build collaborative relationships with other aspiring physician-scientists in training
• Acquire knowledge and skills necessary to succeed as a physician-scientist
• Interact with experienced and successful physician-scientists
• Provide vertical mentorship to those who are at an earlier stage in their training
• Better understand the challenges, pitfalls, and opportunities in the training and career of a physician-scientist
• Supplement potential weaknesses of the formal academic program
• Learn the skills necessary to secure research funding
• Interact with junior faculty members to understand the challenges of managing an academic laboratory

MD/PhD Program News

DNA Methylation and the Opposing NMDAR Dysfunction in Schizophrenia and Major Depression Disorders

L. Taylor Flynn, an MD/PhD student in the Neuroscience program, and Wen-Jun Gao, MD, PhD, professor, Department of Neurobiology & Anatomy, published a review paper, “DNA Methylation and the Opposing NMDAR Dysfunction in Schizophrenia and Major Depression Disorders: A Converging Model for Therapeutic Effects of Psychedelic Compounds in the Treatment of Psychiatric Illness” in Molecular Psychiatry on September 7, 2023.

Haslund-Gourley Receives Neil Spector Award & Presents at International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society Conference

Ben Haslund-Gourley, an MD/PhD student in the Microbiology & Immunology program, received the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society Neil Spector Award at the society’s 2023 scientific conference. This award is given to the best scientific presentation at the conference. Haslund-Gourley presented two talks: “Immunoglobulin N-Glycans Role in Diagnosing Lyme Disease” and “Immunoglobulins N-Glycans Impair Host Response to Lyme Disease.”

Congratulations!

Congratulations to MD/PhD student Breana Channer for receiving a Dean’s Travel Award in the Fall 2023 cycle.

Congratulations to MD/PhD student Victoria Mischley for receiving the NIH National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering F30 grant for “Developing computational methods to identify of endogenous substrates of E3 ubiquitin ligases and molecular glue degraders.” (grant number 1F30EB034594-01)

Congratulations to MD/PhD student Mitch Parker on his first author paper titled “Delineating The RAS Conformational Landscape.” The paper appears in the American Association for Cancer Research journal Cancer Research.

Meeting Franklin Laureates

Ben Haslund-Gourley and Swaksha Rachuri met Franklin Institute Award Laureates Drs. Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman at "The Future of MRNA Therapeutics" lecture on May 4, 2022. Drs. Karikó and Weissman are recipients of the 2022 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science.

Awards and Achievements

 
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