The Careers and Professional Activities of Graduates
of the NIGMS Medical Scientist Training Program
September 1998
Introduction
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) established the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) in 1964 to support research training leading to the combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree. The program was designed to train investigators who could better bridge the gap between basic science and clinical research by providing both graduate training in the biomedical sciences and clinical training offered through medical schools. What began in 1964 with three programs has now grown to 32 MSTP programs funded through the National Research Service Act. 2 In FY 1996, the MSTP supported approximately 870 students, of which about 240 were new trainees appointed that year.3
Since the inception of the MSTP, several assessments of the programs have been conducted, including those by NIGMS,4 the National Research Council (NRC) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC),5 and some of the MSTP-funded institutions themselves.6 7 8 9 The career outcomes of graduates from eight MSTP programs were summarized by Martin in 1991.10 These studies documented the success of MSTP graduates in establishing research careers, but none of the studies included graduates of all funded MSTP programs, and no study since the 1981 NRC/AAMC study (which included only the first 53 MSTP graduates) provided data on the success of comparison groups.
Three studies attempted to distinguish the nature of the research activities of MSTP graduates from those of other groups of M.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. recipients.5 11 12 However, in only one of these studies were the careers of MSTP graduates compared to those of other Ph.D. recipients in the biomedical sciences.12 Contrasting these two groups may help distinguish MSTP graduates from more traditional biomedical Ph.D. recipients in terms of their employment settings, their involvement in both research and clinical practice, the sponsors of their research, and the types of journals in which they publish.
This study was designed to assess the success of MSTP graduates in establishing research careers and the types of careers and research activities of MSTP graduates compared to graduates of other combined-degree or Ph.D. programs. The data were drawn from existing National Institutes of Health (NIH) databases as well as from curricula vitae (c.v.) provided by graduates of MSTP programs and members of several comparison groups. Back - Next - Contents
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