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.