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

In the past I have used this venue to
highlight developments in the Pittsburgh
MSTP, but the past couple years of
economic changes push me to address
more global issues related to physician
scientist training. The various economic
bubbles (beginning with the dot-com
bubble and continuing with the housing
bubble) have burst. In conjunction
with tremendously expensive military
ventures and a severe decline in our
economy, these economic changes
have shaken our country. We should
have done the numbers in 2009 and
better anticipated the implications of
these changes for research, but most
of us buried our collective heads in the
sand and hoped the economy would
turn around before the implications of
our financial woes would be evident in
research budgets.
Well, despite a large stimulus
package, the economy remains sluggish
and tax revenues are down. Severe
cuts are being made and pain that was
especially pronounced in the private
sector in 2009 has reached publicly
funded research. NIH is proving to
be one of the biggest casualties. This
deep in the financial hole it is difficult
to imagine a rosy horizon in the near
future. It may be longer than a decade
before discretionary funding recovers to
a point where NIH funded research will
have the leverage it has enjoyed in the
recent past.
What does this mean for training
physician scientists I think the bottom
line is that competition is
going to be more than fierce.
To be successful, freshly
minted MD/PhDs are not
going to prosper with just
good science and clinical
skills, but will also need a set
of well-honed survival skills. Granting
from NIH will still be important; however,
broader horizons must be sought.
Alternative sources of funding and
focused collaborations may make the
difference between viable careers and
frustrating reassignment.
Historically, much of Pittsburgh’s
MSTP professional development has
been focused on the NIH. While skills
learned in writing NIH grants have broad
applicability, we are clearly charged
with having to expand the training to
Director’s Corner
A Message From Clayton Wiley, MD, PhD
Associate Dean, Director of MSTP
encompass new funding and research
modes. The good news is that in the past
12 years, we are committed to creating
a real training program that is robust
and adaptable, a great foundation for
tweaking and creating a training engine
to prepare for the new world. We plan
to face the upcoming challenges for
physician scientists head-on by not just
preparing students for these challenges
through training, but hopefully teaching
them to anticipate frustrations and think
outside the box to find solutions.
from page 2, Hawryluk
research opportunities as well
as longitudinal academic time to
pursue these interests during the
year.
Q: How do you currently balance
family time and career, or how do
you see yourself balancing these
in the future
A: I am fortunate to be in a field
like dermatology which will allow
me to have a focused outpatient
clinic and very modular time to
explore my academic and research
interests, in addition to my career
and family time.
Q: Where do you see yourself in
10 years
A: In an academic center, with clinical
and research responsibilities.
Q: Do you have any advice for
MSTP students
A: Explore your options before
making decisions, I am very happy
to have gathered advice and
learned from the senior MSTP
students before joining a lab.
These same senior MSTP trainees
continue to be friends and mentors
to me.
- Niyathi Hegde, G1
Dr. Elena Hawryluk can be reached at
elena.hawryluk@gmail.com
from page 2, IACT
innovation to improve the wellbeing
of older adults.
IACT was also created to
enable students to pursue ventures
that otherwise might not find
support. Whether a student at Pitt
or CMU, in medicine or electrical
engineering or management,
it is often difficult to capitalize
on an idea because the world
looks at you as “just a student.”
Nonetheless, individual students or
teams of students have produced
groundbreaking ideas worth
supporting.
IACT serves as a meeting
place for students working in
this vein so they can collectively
support each other. Importantly, it
also links these students to funding
and consulting services in the
region so students can build their
ventures in the real world.
The founders of IACT have
a vision to make Pittsburgh a
nationally-recognized force in
healthcare innovation, and make
students a part of that force.
We invite you to learn more
about IACT, including upcoming
events, at www.iactpgh.com.
- Daniel Bishop, MS2 and Jason
Sanders, G1
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