Training the Next Generation of Clinician Scientist

Modified Project Summary/Abstract Section Clinician scientists are a vital component of the biomedical research workforce. Unfortunately, early career clinicians currently make up a smaller share of funded investigators than ever, and the training opportunities for clinician scientists is shrinking. This T35 training grant proposal seeks continuation of a highly productive training program with a goal of encouraging talented medical students and pharmacy students to pursue careers as clinician scientists. Programs to attract interested medical students to careers as physician scientists complement MD-PhD training programs because MD scientists are more likely to engage in patient-oriented research compared to MD-PhD scientists and MD scientists more often choose research as a career direction during medical school compared to MD-PhD scientists who generally choose before medical school. We expanded the program to include pharmacy students to train pharmacist scientists, who play an important role in research in therapeutics in infectious diseases and immunological disorders, including cancer. This approach also provides interprofessional research experiences for medical students and PharmD students to work together. The program offers a research and career development experience between the first and second year of professional school, building on a partnership between University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. The training program has been enormously successful. During the first ten years, every position has been filled with 100% of 70 students completing the program, influencing how they view research and academic careers. Several students have continued in research, published papers in peer-reviewed journals and are on academic career paths. An important priority of this program, which we will continue to emphasize, is ensuring participation of students who have not had prior significant research exposure. We have an additional innovation in the most recent funding period. Students who complete the program will earn a micro-credential, which are an emerging, innovative educational approach awarded for completion of a learning experience. These digital badges are shareable on ePortfolio, digital resumé or Linked-In profiles and are increasingly valued in education and industry as a way to document training that learners can bring with them as their careers progress. This T35 program, designed to introduce medical and pharmacy students to careers as clinician scientists, is responsive to a national priority to increase the number of clinician scientists in the U.S. biomedical research workforce.