MD/PhD Program
Students planning for a career in biomedical research and academic medicine should consider the MD/PHD program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS). The MD/PHD program combines the curricula of the Medical and Graduate schools and provides a comprehensive education in both clinical and research disciplines.
The goal of the MD/PHD program is to provide motivated students the opportunities to develop skills and experience in biomedical investigation and the practice of medicine. This is a rigorous and challenging program, and upon successful completion the student is awarded both the PHD in Biomedical Sciences and the MD. Our goal is to train physician-scientists who will make significant contributions to health care and who will become the leaders of academic medicine.
For students planning a career in biomedical research, the MD/PHD Program represents an integrated opportunity for training as a physician-scientist. The program combines the curriculum of the School of Medicine and the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) to provide a strong foundation, which is structured yet flexible, to meet the needs of the individual student
Program Description
Upon matriculation, first-year students are assigned a MD/PHD faculty advisor who will closely follow, guide and monitor their progress throughout their years in the program. During the first two years of study, students enroll in the standard medical school curriculum, comprising the pre-clinical coursework. While enrolled in the pre-clinical coursework, students will also enroll each semester in a one-credit tutorial course that matches students with a research faculty member of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) . The goal of the tutorials during the pre-clinical years is to expose students to different research fields and to the GSBS faculty so that they are best able to select a research laboratory to perform their thesis research. Students are expected to meet with their tutorial advisor on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule to learn about the laboratory and the research being conducted in it.
In the summer following their first year of medical school, MD/PHD students engage full-time in laboratory research and also enroll in Scientific Writing, a course that represents formal preparation for completion of the writing component of their PHD qualifying examination, and future grant submission or journal publication.
In the summer following their second year of medical school, MD/PHD students engage full-time in laboratory research and are expected to select a thesis advisor by the end of the summer. Students are able to choose from any of the faculty members affiliated with the 9 PHD programs of the GSBS.
Upon successful completion and defense of the PHD thesis, students return to the Medical School curricula with a modified program of clinical rotations, individually tailored to match each student’s academic needs and career goals.
Clinical & Population Health Research (CPHR)
The MD/PhD Program at UMass Medical School offers a PhD track in Clinical & Population Health Research. This doctoral track was specifically designed to prepare students to:
Translate new health sciences discoveries into clinical applications
Understand the biology-behavior-environment interactions that affect human health
Address fundamental questions of efficacy and access
Develop the skills required to make significant contributions to the delivery of health care in the future
The CPHR Program uses the NIH definition of clinical research.
Patient-oriented research. Research conducted with human subjects (or identified human tissues, specimens) for which the investigator directly interacts with human subjects investigating:
Mechanisms of human disease
Therapeutic interventions
Clinical trials
Development of new technologies
Epidemiologic and behavioral studies
Outcomes research and health services research
Learn more about this type of research opportunity by connecting directly to their website at www.umassmed.edu/cphr/ .
UMass Memorial Health Care is the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Central Massachusetts’ largest not-for-profit health care delivery system with 1,700 physicians and over 10,000 employees, the comprehensive network of care includes a multi-campus tertiary hospital, owned and affiliated community hospitals, freestanding primary care practices, ambulatory outpatient clinics, long-term care facilities, home health agencies, hospice programs, a rehabilitation group, mental health services and a 700-member faculty group practice. The system includes approximately 1,100 licensed beds in its facilities and oversees almost 60,000 hospital admissions annually.
School of Medicine Catalog
Click here to view the School of Medicine catalog.