Welcome from the Director

Welcome from the Director

Richard Steinman, MD PhD

This newsletter celebrates some of the events in the past year for students in the Physician Scientist Training Program (PSTP) at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. This 5 year merit program offers select Pitt medical students an enrichment curriculum beyond medical school coursework that includes 6 research-oriented courses, two summers of lab work and a focused year of laboratory research. The PSTP is in its eighth year and has graduated 23 students who have averaged over 4 scientific papers each. Students in the PSTP have earned multiple awards, including a dozen Howard Hughes Medical Institute fellowship awards, travel awards to national and international meetings and grants from foundations.

Each PSTP student arrives with research experience and skills and grows beyond that level in critical ways in the program. Students learn to strategically and deliberately identify the best mentor for themselves, and stretch their comfort zone. They share what they are learning. Creative ideas ricochet around the classroom. This process churns the soil for innovative hypotheses to take root. It is a fun environment, importantly.

The dynamics that fuel progress through the PSTP will carry trainees through the rest of their careers. We do our best to promote reflection with biannual self-assessments and career advisor meetings aimed at identifying resources, calibrating goals and overcoming obstacles. I am hopeful that this blossoming culture of success will send its tendrils with our graduates through residency, fellowships and beyond.

It has been an honor to work with the 30 students in the program and with our graduates. I look forward to the next cycle of applicants to our PSTP.

Friday, March 20, 2015

Two program students awarded HHMI grants for their Research Year

Tolani Olonisakin and Xiao Zhu have both been awarded grants from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to support their research year.

Ms Olonisakin's research project is "Identifying small molecule compounds that enhance the host innate immune response to infection"

Mr Zhu's research project is "Identifying Molecular Mechanisms within Preglomerular Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells that Contribute to Enhanced Renal Vascular Resistance in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats".

We congratulate both on continuing the PSTP's record of research excellence!
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