Message from the Director

This past year, we welcomed eleven outstanding students to the MD/PhD Program at UMass. During their time here they will be excited and challenged by the academic curriculum, research, faculty, thesis advisors and many others who will interact with them as they move forward in their goal to become a physician-scientist. They welcome these challenges and look forward to engaging others in their pursuit. They chose UMass based on our national and international reputation in research, state-of-the-art facilities, and flexible curriculum which offers them greater academic and research opportunities. UMass recruits their applicants from nationally recognized institutions with the most talented students. We combine the depth of the medical school curriculum along with the rigorous scientific training in nine graduate school programs. We are a young, and growing program, with flexibility tailored to the individual needs of each student. Our graduates have moved on to outstanding residency and fellowship programs, and are beginning to advance into faculty positions at respected academic health centers.

The UMass Program offers flexibility in the curriculum, specialized MD/PhD courses, a supportive advising program and a clinical/population based PhD degree for students interested in clinical research. The Clinical and Population Health Research Program offers our students an opportunity to become leaders in clinical and translational research by training them in areas including epidemiology, determinants of disease and biostatistics. It also addresses the national need for health research to move from the laboratory to the individual patient and healthcare systems.

The Medical School includes a brand new Simulation Center which consists of 1,500 square feet of space designed to support state-of- the-art simulation technology including task trainers, screen-based simulation, and full body mannequins. Diabetes, RNA Biology, Neuroscience, Cell Biology, Cancer Biology and Clinical Science reflects some of the excellent research and programs in the Graduate School. UMass Memorial Health Care, the clinical partner of UMass Medical School, is the region's leading health care provider. It includes a 780 bed hospital group serving a one million+ person regional population, a major trauma center, a new state-of-the-art Emergency Room and a Life Flight.

UMass is located in Worcester, Massachusetts, an urban area due west of the state capital, Boston. It is rural, yet metropolitan and has many cultural activities including the brand new Hanover Theater, which brings Broadway directly to Worcester! In addition, there are many restaurants and cafés, ten colleges, a convention center and a local ski area, Wachusett Mountain.

We welcome you to browse our website and learn more about the quality of the MD/PD Program and depth of the clinical and basic research science programs at UMass.

Sincerely,
Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD
Professor and Director
MD/PhD Program