medical research scientist qualifications

[foofighter]

i heard that ideally one should have a Phd AND an MD to make oneself the MOST qualified. Which degree is best to study for first? and do you need residency? or just the MD degree? thanks

[ecoli]

This is the program I'm planning on doing (I'm an undergrad right now). As far as I know, you don't need a residency if your not planning on practicing medicine, but you'll probably need post-doc a position... and maybe more than one.

 

I'm a biochemistry major. That seems to give a good ground up for things you'll need in medical school.

 

I haven't done all my research yet, so I'm not sure about specific MCAT scores, etc. But I probably should do that really soon, because I'm already a second semester junior... yikes!

I'm taking the MCATs this summer. probably should start studying for that. :-/

[CDarwin]

What's with the MD, by the way? What will you learn at medical school vis-a-vis research that you wouldn't learn in a graduate program in biology? Maybe that's a stupid question.

[ecoli]

What's with the MD, by the way? What will you learn at medical school vis-a-vis research that you wouldn't learn in a graduate program in biology? Maybe that's a stupid question.

A lot of human physiology stuff, most likely. As well as cadavers, hospital, clinical experience, etc.

 

But the extra MD helps you get research funding later on.

[blike]

i heard that ideally one should have a Phd AND an MD to make oneself the MOST qualified. Which degree is best to study for first? and do you need residency? or just the MD degree? thanks

What you're looking for is called MSTP (Medical Scientist Training Program).

 

Basically the NIH will sponsor your medical education as well as give you a stipend. The programs typically take 7-9 years from what I understand, and are usually very selective. For successful applicants the average MCAT score is 36 and the average GPA is 3.8 (according to wikipedia).

 

You can also do non-MSTP MD/PhD programs but they have variable funding and stipends available (school specific).

 

Word on the street is that there is a high attrition rate in these programs, with most students just choosing to get their MD.

 

What's with the MD, by the way? What will you learn at medical school vis-a-vis research that you wouldn't learn in a graduate program in biology? Maybe that's a stupid question.

The difference is enormous. Granted, you could piece together aspects of several different PhD programs (anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pharmacology, etc.) and have someone with the same general medical knowledge as a physician, but the real difference comes with clinical experience. This clinical experience leads to a completely different approach to and understanding of the human body. As students we noticed this change in the perspective of our professors between our first and second years. Our first year of medical school was taught mostly by PhDs in their respective fields, whereas our second year was taught mostly by clinicians. In a nutshell, the PhD view tends to be more black and white, whereas the physician blue tends to be a nice shade of gray.

 

The MD/PhD graduate has a great perspective because he/she will be able to apply research principles (PhD) to clinical scenarios. Unfortunately, outside of biostatistics (which is primarily geared to help physicians sort through and understand research), the typical medical education does not include much education on how to actually conduct research -- though some schools offer electives. But honestly not many students take optional electives in medical school.

 

From wikipedia,

"According to a FASEB study, graduates of NIH-funded MSTPs make up just 2.5% of medical school graduates each year, but after graduation account for about one third of all NIH research grants awarded to physicians."

[ecoli]

contemplating hermitism so I can get my GPA up and studying for MCATs. ugg.

[marchadofusa]

I also may be interested in medical research. If I were to attend a veterinary college and get my D.V.M. would that eliminate me from being able to do medical research on people? Considering most research is done on animals could this possibly help me?

[Rickdog]

There are many areas in medical research that are not exclussive of a certain career. You could finish any career or degree related to medical sciences, Biology and/or Chemistry prior to studying for a Phd or a Master in medical research, that can also help you to reach even better goals than being a MD. As stated before, only clinical practice and expertice is exclussive to a MD. In one way or another Veterinary Medicin is very closely related, so getting your DVM degree can help you, to understand maybe better than other degrees or careers what human medicin is about, it only depends on what you do about it.

 

Our main diference is due to the diferent types of patients to whom we deal with, although as being a Veterinarian myself, I think we are better......

(, just kidding, if I would ever get ill, I wouldn`t trust in any colleague in search for treatment than a MD )

[Greippi]

If anything, my biochemistry masters dissuaded me from medical research hah!

[Mr Skeptic]

I also may be interested in medical research. If I were to attend a veterinary college and get my D.V.M. would that eliminate me from being able to do medical research on people? Considering most research is done on animals could this possibly help me?

 

I suspect it's something you wouldn't want to tell your patients

[CharonY]

Also you should consider what you think a medical scientist is and where he/she is going to work (and as what). Degrees are only part of the equation. It is more important to develop a plan where one wants to be and then look at the requirements. Medical research scientist is a very broad description and could be anything from staff scientist, university prof, industrial research scientist etc. Note that above the PhD level there are often not that many purely research scientist positions. At least in academia they tend to be highly unfavorable and transient (as they generally are on soft money and not tenure tracked).