Article and Artwork By: Camille van Neste (MS1)

The First-Year class depicted as classic Star Wars heroes and anti-heroes: Matt (R2D2), David (Chewbacca), Louise (Grand Moff Tarkin), Varun (Lando Calrissian), Amara (Leia), Tucker (Luke), Joel (Darth Vader), James (Darth Sidious, Sahil (Obi-Wan Kenobi), Christian (Han Solo), Christie (Boba Fett), Camille (C3PO), and Fred (Yoda).

It is most fitting that I write this approximately one year after I had my very first MD/PhD interview at Mount Sinai. I hadn’t been to New York in over 10 years, so I couldn’t help but marvel at the scale of the architecture possible when you don’t have to worry about earthquakes. Fast forwarding to now, I’m still dazzled by the giant buildings. However, I’m dazzled by so many other things too: the ubiquity of home food delivery despite the convenience of a grocery store on every block, the intense August humidity, and (of course) the incredible speed by which my classmates and I are stuffing anatomical knowledge into our brains.

Having grown up in very rural parts of Oregon, Montana, and California I never expected to find myself spending eight years in one of the largest cities in the world. Thankfully, I’m not the only one navigating the culture clash along with getting used to medical school. In a few weeks when the anatomy class is over and our cadavers are put to rest, we will have Thanksgiving together during a brief respite from the next course. By that time, I will be a little more used to New York, a little more used to medical school, but hopefully I will still be dazzled by the community around me.

Meet the first years: 

Sahil Agrawal, Harvard University

Varun Arvind, Rutgers University-New Brunswick

James Carter, Wesleyan University

David Gonzalez, Brown University

Joel Kim, University of Rochester

Fred Kwon, University of Pennsylvania

Louise Malle, University of Pennsylvania

Tucker Matthews, University of Wisconsin

Madison Christie Nguyen, Stanford University

Amara Plaza-Jennings, Princeton University

Matthew Spindler, Princeton University

Christian Stevens, Harvey Mudd College

Camille van Neste, Stanford University

From July 17th to July 19th, the University of Colorado hosted the 30th annual MD/PhD student conference in Keystone. Mount Sinai was well-represented by two 5th year students, Benjamin Laitman and Joseph Scarpa, and Dr. Pamela Sklar, Chief of the Division of Psychiatric Genomics at Mount Sinai, kicked off the weekend with the first keynote speech. The meeting included other premier keynote speakers, including Dr. Bernardo Sabatini (Harvard) and Dr. Elaine Fuchs (Rockefeller), as well as a closing speech by Dr. Robert Califf (FDA Deputy Comissioner). The scientific portions of the conference were complemented by small breakout sessions on career development, residency selection, work-life balance, and the publication process. The weekend also was filled with a number of social events, including an entire morning dedicated hiking, kayaking, or biking in the scenic Keystone area. Perhaps most importantly, it was a wonderful occasion to meet the broader MD/PhD community and make some new friends and colleagues in the process.

Welcome to the new members of the MSTP at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai! These new M1s hail from institutions across the country and are interested in integrating their medical careers with a variety of different scientific pursuits. Please join us in wishing them the best of success in their education.

Name: Kevin Bu

Undergrad: Harvard University

Anticipated MTA: BSP (Biophysics & Systems Pharmacology)

Name: Steven Chen

Undergrad: Cornell University

Anticipated MTAs: CAB (Cancer Biology), DSCB (Developmental and Stem Cell Biology)

Name: Phillip Cohen

Undergrad: University of Rochester

Anticipated MTAs: MIC (Microbiology), IMM (Immunology)

Name: Conor Gruber

Undergrad: Cornell University

Anticipated MTAs: IMM, CAB

Name: Alexandra Keenan

Undergrad: University of Iowa

Anticipated MTAs: NEU (Neuroscience), DTE (Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship)

Name: Michael Martini 

Undergrad: Middlebury College

Anticipated MTA: BSP

Name: Ryan Neff 

Undergrad: Harvard University

Anticipated MTAs: GGS (Genetics and Genomic Sciences), BSP

Name: Sope Oguntuyo 

Undergrad: University of Alabama

Anticipated MTAs: GGS, MIC

Name: Temidayo Orederu 

Undergrad: Hunter College

Anticipated MTAs: NEU, BSP

Name: Samuel Powell 

Undergrad: University of Miami

Anticipated MTAs: NEU, BSP

Name: Jessica Tan 

Undergrad: Temple University

Anticipated MTA: IMM

Name: Allen Zheng 

Undergrad: University of Pennsylvania

Anticipated MTAs: NEU, BSP

Name: Royce Zhou 

Undergrad: Columbia University

Anticipated MTAs: NEU, CAB

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.)  Read more ▶

By Jenny Long Diaz (MP3), Rebecca Hamlin (MP4), and Grace Mosley (MS2)

Women made up 38% of MD/PhD students nationwide in 2014, a figure that has plateaued over the past 10 years. In the most recent application cycle, the percentage of female applicants was even lower than that of matriculants. It is easy to speculate that fewer women than men are applying to MD/PhD programs because of the long time commitment or prioritization of work-life balance and family. However, to date no data has been published on women’s actual motivations for choosing another career or program over the MD/PhD track. In addition, researchers have not yet explored the role of mentorship and implicit bias in this gender disparity.  Read more ▶

By Sandhya Chandrasekaran (entering class of 2013)

Dr. Eric Sobie

Dr. Marta Filizola

This past spring, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences announced the merge of what were previously Structural-Chemical Biology and Molecular Design (SMD) and Systems Biology of Disease and Therapeutics (SBDT) into the new MTA – Biophysics and Systems Pharmacology (BSP). As per a message from the directors, Eric Sobie and Marta Filizola:

“The primary benefit of this merger, in our opinion, is that it will enable more seamless integration across scales of studies of disease and therapeutics. Expertise of systems-level pathophysiology can now be more easily complemented with molecular level expertise of drug and protein structures, which should enhance training opportunities.”

We spoke with Dr. Filizola to learn more about the impetus for the MTA’s creation, as well as plans for the BSP curriculum and students moving forward.  Read more ▶

By David Chiang (entering class of 2009)

Steven Burakoff, MD

This past summer, the Tisch Cancer Institute (TCI) was given the prestigious award of NCI Cancer Center designation, one of 69 cancer centers with this designation in the U.S. The designation, a P30 cancer center support grant, acknowledges TCI’s strength as a center that integrates lab-based science that interfaces with translational research and clinical trials. Sinai joins four other NCI-designated Cancer Centers in New York (Albert Einstein, NYU, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Columbia). Read more ▶

The ACGME reports multiple paths to plastic surgery specialization including 6-year integrated plastics programs as well as specialized 2-year plastics training programs following completion of residencies in neurological surgery, orthopedic surgery, otolaryngology, or urology. Plastics subspecialties also include craniofacial and hand surgery. For this spotlight we interviewed Daniel Cho, newly minted MD PhD, and a first-year resident in the University of Washington Plastic Surgery program, training at four University-affiliated hospitals: UW Medical Center, Harborview Medical Center, the Seattle VA, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. As with many 6-year integrated programs in Plastics, the UW program curriculum’s first 3 years of training are the same as General Surgery residencies, and the last 3 years are focused on Plastic Surgery. Read more ▶