NIH Intramural MD/PhD Partnership Program
The NIH Oxford/Cambridge Scholars Program can accommodate students seeking combined MD/PhD training as the pathway to a career as a physician-scientist. Students admitted to NIH Intramural MD/PhD Partnership Program conduct research in the NIH intramural research program as part of a coordinated plan of dual-degree training with a U.S. medical school in preparation for a career as a physician-investigator in basic or translational science. An archived video presentation and Q&A session about MD/PhD training and the NIH intramural MD/PhD Partnership is also accessible at https://webmeeting.nih.gov/p63758124/
The NIH intramural MD/PhD Partnership is not a stand-alone MD/PhD training program. Students earn the PhD degree through Individual Partnerships with their medical school or through one of the sixteen NIH Institutional Partnerships including the Oxford/Cambridge Scholars Program. An NIH scientist serves as your mentor or co-mentor for the PhD portion of your training. As with other MD/PhD programs, students must fulfill all the requirements for the PhD from the University partner department. In many cases, medical school courses are accepted in lieu of some of the doctoral coursework. In all cases, the participating university confers the PhD degree. Students can enter the NIH Intramural MD/PHD Partnership Program via one of three defined pathways or "tracks" and individualized plans may also be designed.
Track 1: Simultaneous admission to both programs. Undergraduate or post-baccalaureate students can apply for MSTP programs at medical schools and the GPP during the same admission cycle. If admitted to both programs, the student can enter the partnering MSTP medical school with the permission of the GPP and MSTP program directors. In most cases, the sequence of training in this track would be similar to the usual MSTP training pathway (see timeline). Students must apply to medical schools for combined-degree training to be considered for the partnership pathway.
Track 2: Admission to PhD training from medical school. Medical students can apply to an NIH GPP program and begin graduate training generally after completing the pre-clinical medical school curriculum. Students in ‘year-out’ programs such as the NIH-HHMI Research Scholars Program or the Clinical Research Training Program can also apply for PhD training in this track. Upon acceptance to the GPP, students can then apply for MSTP status to the MSTP program of their medical school.
Track 3: Admission to medical school and an MSTP during PhD training. Students wishing to pursue this pathway should apply to medical schools for combined degree training (not medical school only) so their applications are considered by the MSTP admissions committee at the medical school. Applying to this pathway during the first or second year of PhD training is preferred so the training can be as integrated as possible. Because the ‘PhD First’ pathway is non-traditional, admissions standards may be higher than in tracks 1 and 2.
Benefits
GPP students enrolled in combined degree training benefit from the enhanced curriculum offered to MD/PhD students at their medical school, which often includes coursework and seminars designed for combined degree trainees, as well as modified clinical rotation requirements. Partnership students are tracked and receive career advice from a group of dedicated NIH-based MD/PhD advisors. The program aims to provide bridges to clinical medicine and clinical investigation while students are in the research phase of training at the NIH. Students participate in a number of activities to this end, including individually arranged longitudinal clinical preceptorships with clinical investigators at NIH’s Clinical Center, the nation's largest hospital devoted entirely to clinical research. Students can attend NIH Clinical Grand Rounds and the Demystifying Medicine Course, and are eligible to attend the annual National MD/PhD Student Conference in Colorado and the Clinical Investigator Student Conference in Bethesda.
If the student enrolls at a medical school that receives MSTP funding and is accepted by the MSTP training program of the medical school, he or she would become eligible to receive tuition and stipend benefits equivalent to the benefits offered to MSTP trainees at that medical school for the remaining years of medical school training. While in the GPP, students are supported by NIH intramural funds and their thesis laboratories. Funding for the medical school will come from the extramural training program of the NIH institute affiliated with the student’s Ph.D. thesis lab and will be administered by the NIGMS, sponsor of the national Medicial Scientist Training Program grants. For students enrolled in medical schools not receiving MSTP funding, opportunities are provided to apply for individual fellowships that provide funding for both the MD and PhD phase of training.
Time To Degree
In most cases, doing the combined MD/PhD program at NIH through the GPP should not extend the time requied to complete both the MD and PhD degrees beyond what it would be in a traditional MD/PhD program (7-8 years).
Admission
Admission and specific permission to pursue this training pathway must be granted by the MSTP program of your medical school and the steering committee of the NIH MSTP partnership. The NIH GPP will work with your medical school and its MSTP to make sure the details of this partnership are communicated. There are a defined number of training slots available from each NIH institute and it is possible that in the future there may be competition for these as well.
Applying
The web-based applications for NIH GPP training programs may be accessed via the GPP website. Depending on the program, deadlines occur December through February. Admissions decisions are made in March and April. For most programs, either the MCAT or GRE are accepted. In addition to the formal partnerships, students and their mentors can set up an individual partnership between an NIH lab and a lab or graduate program at the medical school that can fulfill the requirements of the program. This should be done through consultation with the NIH GPP office. If you are applying for combined degree training, the personal statement you prepare for inclusion in the GPP application should address your reasons for wanting to pursue combined-degree training and how you will use this training in your career.
For medical school admissions, students should follow the normal procedures and apply to medical school and MSTP programs at the schools of their choice. If the student is already enrolled in a partnership or committed to one at the time of application, the student should clearly indicate in the personal statement or cover letter which partnership is being considered and the planned course of study. Please send your completed AMCAS application to the GPP and if you are already enrolled in a GPP, request that copies of your letters of recommendation be forwarded to the GPP.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Applicants must be currently enrolled in medical school or concurrently submitting applications to MSTP-funded MD/PhD programs in current application cycles to apply for this partnership.
Important Hyperlinks
Medical Scientist Training Program
Participating MSTP Programs
Frequently Asked Questions
MSTP Flyer
Contacts
Bridget Lampert, M.S., MD/PhD Program Managing Director
Building 2/Room 2W17, Bethesda, MD (Phone: 301.496.6083)
Email: lampertb@niaid.nih.gov
Richard Siegel, MD/PhD Partnership Director
NIH Building 10 / Room 9N238,
Bethesda, MD (Phone: 301.496.3761)
Email: siegelr@mail.nih.gov
