The financial impact of MD-PhD training compared with MD training for academic physicians.

To reduce debt burden and encourage the pursuit of research-focused careers, most MD-PhD programs provide medical school tuition remission and an annual stipend. However, prolonged training compared with MD physicians postpones the time until MD-PhD physicians earn a full salary. We compared lifetime earning potential for MD-PhD physicians in academia with their MD colleagues in the same clinical specialty.

Yeast-based assay to identify inhibitors of the malaria parasite sodium phosphate uptake transporter as potential novel antimalarial drugs.

Malaria affects almost 250 million people annually and continues to be a significant threat to global public health. Infection with protozoan parasites from the genus Plasmodium causes malaria. The primary treatment for malaria is artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs).

More women than ever are entering MD-PhD programs. What lies ahead for them?

The earliest MD-PhD programs were small and enrolled mostly men. Here, we show that since 2014 there has been a steady increase in the number of women in MD-PhD programs, the number of women reaching parity with men in 2023. This change was due to an increase in female applicants, a decrease in male applicants, and an increase in the acceptance rate for women, which had previously been lower than that for men.

The National MD-PhD Program Outcomes Study: career paths followed by Black and Hispanic graduates.

Previous studies on attrition from MD-PhD programs have shown that students who self-identify as Black are more likely to withdraw before graduating than Hispanic students and students not from groups underrepresented in medicine (non-UIM). Here, we analyzed data collected for the National MD-PhD Program Outcomes Study, a national effort to track the careers of over 10,000 individuals who have graduated from MD-PhD programs over the past 60 years. On average, Black trainees took slightly longer to graduate, were less likely to choose careers in academia, and were more likely to enter nonacademic clinical practice; although, none of these differences were large.

Sociodemographic factors and research experience impact MD-PhD program acceptance.

The 2014 NIH Physician-Scientist Workforce Working Group predicted a future shortage of physician-scientists. Subsequent studies have highlighted disparities in MD-PhD admissions based on race, income, and education. Our analysis of data from the Association of American Medical Colleges covering 2014-2021 (15,156 applicants and 6,840 acceptees) revealed that acceptance into US MD-PhD programs correlates with research experience, family income, and research publications.

Putative purine nucleoside interacting residues in the malaria parasite purine uptake transporter PfENT1 are critical for transporter function.

Malaria remains a major public health threat for billions of people worldwide. Infection with obligate intracellular, unicellular parasites from the genus Plasmodium causes malaria. Plasmodium falciparum causes the deadliest form of human malaria.

Pearls of wisdom for aspiring physician-scientist residency applicants and program directors.

Postgraduate physician-scientist training programs (PSTPs) enhance the experiences of physician-scientist trainees following medical school graduation. PSTPs usually span residency and fellowship training, but this varies widely by institution. Applicant competitiveness for these programs would be enhanced, and unnecessary trainee anxiety relieved, by a clear understanding of what factors define a successful PSTP matriculant.

Gaps between college and starting an MD-PhD program are adding years to physician-scientist training time.

The average age when physician-scientists begin their career has been rising. Here, we focused on one contributor to this change: the increasingly common decision by candidates to postpone applying to MD-PhD programs until after college. This creates a time gap between college and medical school.

Mater Artium Necessitas: The Birth of a COVID-19 Command Center.

In February of 2020, New York City was unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic. Cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection appeared and spread rapidly. Hospitals had to repurpose staff and establish diagnostic testing for this new viral infection.

MD-PhD graduates remain underrepresented in orthopaedic surgery: National MD-PhD Program Outcome Survey update.

With the dramatic expansion of the biomedical knowledge base and increasing demands for evidence-based medicine, the role of the clinician-scientist is becoming increasingly important. In orthopaedic surgery, clinician-scientists are at the forefront of translational efforts to address the growing burden of musculoskeletal disease, yet MD-PhD trained investigators have historically been underrepresented in this field. Here, we examine the trend, over time, of MD-PhD graduates pursuing orthopaedic surgery, compared with other specialties.

Impact of Field Isolate Identified Nonsynonymous Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms on Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1 Inhibitor Efficacy.

causes the most severe form of malaria and causes approximately 500 000 deaths per year. . parasites resistant to current antimalarial treatments are spreading.

The national MD-PhD program outcomes study: Relationships between medical specialty, training duration, research effort, and career paths.

MD-PhD programs were established in the 1950s as a new curriculum for training physician-scientists. Since then, the number of programs has grown considerably; however, concerns about the health of the US physician-scientist workforce have grown, as well. The largest attempt to date to assess whether MD-PhD programs are fulfilling their mission was the national MD-PhD program outcomes study, which was released as an American Association of Medical Colleges report in 2018.

The national MD-PhD program outcomes study: Outcomes variation by sex, race, and ethnicity.

In 2015, a nation-wide effort was launched to track the careers of over 10,000 MD-PhD program graduates. Data were obtained by surveys sent to alumni, inquiries sent to program directors, and searches in American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) databases. Here, we present an analysis of the data, focusing on the impact of sex, race, and ethnicity on career outcomes.

Identification via a Parallel Hit Progression Strategy of Improved Small Molecule Inhibitors of the Malaria Purine Uptake Transporter that Inhibit Parasite Proliferation.

Emerging resistance to current antimalarial medicines underscores the importance of identifying new drug targets and novel compounds. Malaria parasites are purine auxotrophic and import purines via the equilibrative nucleoside transporter type 1 (PfENT1). We previously showed that PfENT1 inhibitors block parasite proliferation in culture.

Accessibility of substituted cysteines in TM2 and TM10 transmembrane segments in the equilibrative nucleoside transporter PfENT1.

Infection with species parasites causes malaria. parasites are purine auxotrophic. They import purines via an equilibrative nucleoside transporter (ENT).

History and Outcomes of 50 Years of Physician-Scientist Training in Medical Scientist Training Programs.

Physician-scientists are needed to continue the great pace of recent biomedical research and translate scientific findings to clinical applications. MD-PhD programs represent one approach to train physician-scientists. MD-PhD training started in the 1950s and expanded greatly with the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), launched in 1964 by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) at the National Institutes of Health.

Substrate and Inhibitor Specificity of the Plasmodium berghei Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter Type 1.

Malaria is a critical public health issue in the tropical world, causing extensive morbidity and mortality. Infection by unicellular, obligate intracellular Plasmodium parasites causes malaria. The emergence of resistance to current antimalarial drugs necessitates the development of novel therapeutics.

Targeting the Plasmodium vivax equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 (PvENT1) for antimalarial drug development.

Infection with Plasmodium falciparum and vivax cause most cases of malaria. Emerging resistance to current antimalarial medications makes new drug development imperative. Ideally a new antimalarial drug should treat both falciparum and vivax malaria.

Implementing competency based admissions at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Einstein) was founded in 1955 during an era of limited access to medical school for women, racial minorities, and many religious and ethnic groups. Located in the Bronx, NY, Einstein seeks to educate physicians in an environment of state-of-the-art scientific inquiry while simultaneously fulfilling a deep commitment to serve its community by providing the highest quality clinical care. A founding principle of Einstein, the basis upon which Professor Einstein agreed to allow the use of his name, was that admission to the student body would be based entirely on merit.

Cysteine Modification: Probing Channel Structure, Function and Conformational Change.

Cysteine substitution has been a powerful tool to investigate the structure and function of proteins. It has been particularly useful for studies of membrane proteins in their native environment, embedded in phospholipid membranes. Among the 20 amino acids, cysteine is uniquely reactive.

Yeast-based high-throughput screen identifies Plasmodium falciparum equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 inhibitors that kill malaria parasites.

Equilibrative transporters are potential drug targets; however, most functional assays involve radioactive substrate uptake that is unsuitable for high-throughput screens (HTS). We developed a robust yeast-based growth assay that is potentially applicable to many equilibrative transporters. As proof of principle, we applied our approach to Equilibrative Nucleoside Transporter 1 of the malarial parasite Plasmodium falciparum (PfENT1).