Effect of Two Howard Hughes Medical Institute Research Training Programs for Medical Students on the Likelihood of Pursuing Research Careers

Abstract

The one-year intensive research training supported by the HHMI training programs appears to provide an effective imprinting experience on medical students' research careers and to be an attractive strategy for training physician-scientists.

Contemporary global perspectives of medical students on research during undergraduate medical education: a systematic literature review

“…This result was consistent with the literature elsewhere within the global context [44–46]. Curriculum that incorporates, enacts, and implements research during undergraduate medical education is critical because students who got trained and involved in research were more likely to continue to do research in the future [36]. …”

“…Some of those included dual-degrees such as MD/PhD or intercalated programs (as they are referred to in some countries outside the U.S [35]. Other combined programs and specialized programs were introduced by various medical colleges especially in the U.S. and Canada [36]. …”

Anesthesia research training: preparing for the future of our speciality

“…The latter result suggests a ''disconnect'' between training expectations and career goals, given that the probability of establishing a successful research career increases with research training. 2 Formal research training increases the rate of success in obtaining a faculty appointment with research responsibilities and secured research funds. 2 For example, graduates of medical scientist training programs (MD-PhD) were more likely to obtain postdoctoral awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (35%) than graduates with an MD degree alone (4%).…”

“…2 Interestingly, even one year of intense research training during medical school, without completion of a graduate degree, increased the chances of success in securing postdoctoral awards fivefold and the chances of holding a research appointment almost threefold. 2 Other studies have shown that the majority of clinician-scientists who embarked on the MD-PhD track continued to hold academic positions (81%), and most maintained active research programs (82%) and had secured identifiable research funding (61%).…”

Graduate Education and Research at the University of Pittsburgh (GEAR-UP): A Program to Educate Students about Pharmaceutical Research

“…Multiple successful models of undergraduate research programs have been reported in schools of medicine. [7][8][9][10][11] A recent publication by Randall et al emphasized the importance of collaborative associations of liberal arts colleges and research intensive institutions in the College of Medicine at the University of Kentucky. 12 The format of the GEAR-UP Program built on these original reports and extended these experiences via collaboration with other schools of pharmacy and other related disciplines to increase the visibility of research in the pharmaceutical sciences.…”