Physician Scientist Training Program

Physician Scientist Training Program

Physician scientists have been central to many advances credited to Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) since its inception. Today, JHUSOM is a national leader in physician scientist training.  Already home to a preeminent medical scientist training program (MSTP) for M.D., Ph.D. students, the physician scientist training program (PSTP) was established in 2016 to broaden and strengthen our commitment to develop the next generation of physician scientists.

Who are Physician Scientists?

Physician scientists are medical doctors who view patient care as vitally important, but not all we do. We not only care for today’s patients, but also question the fundamental mechanisms of diseases we encounter and pursue research to inform how we can better understand tomorrow's patients.

Goals of the Physician Scientist Training Program

Many of our activities focus on residency and fellowship years, when would-be physician scientists become immersed in clinical training but also must identify a research direction and mentors who can help them take an idea from a curious question to a sustainable, impactful direction of independent inquiry. Goals of the PSTP are to:

• Inspire and enable residents and clinical fellows to pursue research training in combination with their clinical training, as well as to support junior faculty physician scientists.
• Provide venues for trainees to hear about the work of great physician scientists at JHUSOM and to present their own research
• Provide an orientation to the stellar basic and translational science ongoing at JHUSOM for residents and fellows new to the institution
• Provide travel allowances to attend scientific meetings and microgrants for exploratory research projects
• Host workshops to teach essential skills for success in research, and provide constructive feedback on papers and funding proposals