By Cindy Tian, entering class of 2013

This September launched the inaugural year of the ISMMS-Google Life Sciences academic partnership (this team was recently restructured under Google parent company Alphabet, so I’ll just refer to it as the Life Sciences team here). Proposed last spring, this research partnership gives second-year MD/PhD students at Mount Sinai an opportunity to interview for four-year PhD positions with the Life Sciences team. (Third-year MD students may also apply for two-year research fellowships.) 

The Life Sciences team labs are working on many innovative projects in healthcare including smart contact lenses that monitor glucose real-time for diabetic patients (licensed by Alcon, a division of Novartis for commercialization), bandage-sized cloud-connected glucose sensors (developed in partnership with DexCom), the Baseline Study, which is focused on finding better ways to predict and prevent disease, as well as nanoparticle-based technology for the detection of cancer and other disease states.

Following an interview process, up to two candidates from the MD/PhD program may be selected for entry into the four-year Life Sciences program after completing their second year of medical school and USMLE Step 1. Students that are selected complete rotations across different research teams of interest, including computational biology, translational research, clinical science, and physiometric sensor development, before choosing a team. The MD/PhD students complete their PhD thesis work under a Life Sciences team mentor on a focused research team with an ISMMS committee remotely overseeing and monitoring academic requirements for degree completion. To foster continued involvement in the MD/PhD program while away, students return to ISMMS for annual MD/PhD Retreats as well as committee meetings during the course of their PhD work. Following successful thesis defense in the fourth year of the PhD, MD/PhD students will return to ISMMS in New York City to complete their MD. It’s an exciting opportunity to continue to pursue academic goals while working on research with the cross-functional Life Sciences team… not to mentioning enjoying the much-acclaimed meal program!