The PiTT-CMU MSTP NewSleTTer - University of Pittsburgh :: MSTP

On June 1, 2010 we matriculated
a new class of 14 students (13 new
students in addition to one internal
second year medical student). As in
past years, the new students hail from
outstanding undergraduate schools
where they excelled in both academics
and research. With an average GPA of
3.73 and an average MCAT of ~35 they
demonstrate the continued success of
our MSTP to matriculate the best and the
brightest. All of the first years completed
their first professional development
course (molecular medicine) in addition
to a lab rotation from which they compiled
their Retreat posters.
For the rising second year
students, this was the inaugural year of
the summer professional development ii
course (methods and analysis) taught by
Dr. Geoff Murdoch and myself. In addition
to learning about their classmates’
summer research, the students were
given ample opportunity to formally
present their data and begin to create
their “elevator spiel” for use in future
networking. To keep them “off their toes,”
the students sampled a variety of red
wines throughout the course and then
were rigorously grilled in a blind tasting.
Only one student correctly matched all
the wines to grapes, so while Neil Kelly
has a potential additional career as a
sommelier, the rest will have
to buckle down to science
and medicine.
This fall begins our
MSTP workshops, a yearlong
series of eight discussions
over dinner. These workshops
are designed to maximize interactions
between students across different
stages of training. Groups of eight
students (one student from each class)
will analyze research, training, medical
and ethical cases germane to the
training of all physician scientists. Each
class, in turn, will have the opportunity
to contribute to the case discussed,
Director’s Corner
A Message From Clayton Wiley, MD, PhD
Associate Dean, Director of MSTP
lead the discussion at their respective
tables, and to summarize the outcome
of the dinner discussion and potentially
present it in a written form such as in
future newsletters. Like all other aspects
of our MSTP, the workshops are an
experiment and represent our continued
efforts to push the edge of the envelope
in training physician scientists.
from page 2, Levinthal
documentation, go home by about 6:30-7
p.m. Repeat.
But the past two years I was doing
100 percent research during a post-doc
period of training built into my fast-track
pathway in GI. The fast-track is a relatively
new training path in internal medicine
designed for MD/PhDs who have a very
good sense of what specialty they wish to
pursue. For GI, the pathway is two years
residency plus four years fellowship (two
and a half years of which can be spent
doing research).
Q: How do you balance family time
and career or how do you see yourself
balancing these in the future?
A: My wife, Sarah, and I have found a
balance that works for us. It was really
hard to have quality time with her during
my internship – I was a walking zombie for
most of the year. But she was so wonderful
and supportive – I don’t think I could have
made it through it without her. The best
advice is to really make the most of the time
you have with your family. We tend to plan
little day trips or outings for my days off.
That makes them memorable and special.
Our son was born last August
and I was very fortunate to have a flexible
schedule last year. Now it’s much harder
that I’m back in the clinic full-time. Again,
the days off are precious and my first
priority is to spend time with the family.
There is no question that pursuing a
medical career puts a strain on family life.
But the silver lining is that an academic
medicine career, once well established,
may present some opportunities for a
more flexible schedule. Someday. Maybe.
Q: Where do you see yourself in ten
years?
A: By then I will certainly be on the faculty
somewhere, likely here at the University
of Pittsburgh if all works out. I hope to
have my second R01 grant by then and
have made it to the rank of associate
professor with a successful tenure. My
ideal balance would be to have about 80
percent of my time devoted to research
with 20 percent clinical effort. I’d also like
to be involved in national GI organizations
like the AGA by serving on committees,
as well as beginning to be invited to give
presentations at outside institutions. I’d
also like to have an independent lab, with
graduate students, post-docs, and possibly
fellows working with me. The coolest thing
would be to begin to translate some of my
research into actual therapeutic trials. A tall
order, but one can dream.
Q: What advice do you have for current
MSTP students?
A: ASK QUESTIONS! Navigating this
career path is very difficult. It is easy to
lose time. Before making any of the major
decisions, ask lots and lots of questions
– of the alumni, of students further
along in the program, of PhD program
students, post-docs, everyone. Don’t
forget about your original class of medical
students that went straight through to
residency. They are seasoned, veteran
residents/fellows, maybe even attending
physicians, by the time you are applying
to residency programs. Their input is
invaluable because they are your friends
and they’ll give you the honest truth about
specific residencies and career paths.
Q: Final thoughts?
A: I couldn’t have made a better decision
for my career. Every year that goes by, I
love practicing medicine more and more.
It becomes a part of your self-image and
at this point, after being involved in patient
care to some degree since 1998, it’s pretty
hard-wired into me. Of course, research
has always been something that I have
loved from the start.
Interview conducted by Niyathi Hegde
(G1)
Alunni Relations Chair
Dr. David Levinthal can be reached at
dlevinth@pitt.edu
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