By Dr. Megan Williams (MSTP Assistant Director)
In July four members of the MSTP Leadership Team, Dr. Chris Williams (Director), Dr. Lourdes Estrada (Associate Director), Dr. Megan Williams (Assistant Director), and Leigh Ann Gardner (Senior Grants Manager) attended the National Association for Clinician Scientist Training (NACST) meeting in Bethesda, MD. Dr. Chris Williams is the current President of NACST, an organization whose mission is to advance the education, training, and career development of physician-scientists with an emphasis on the continuum of clinician-scientist training pathways. Dr. Estrada was a member of the meeting planning committee. The meeting opened with a keynote address by NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on the NIH’s vision for supporting the physician-scientist workforce going forward. Other highlights of the program included a panel with MD-PhD program leadership and NIH and NIGMS officials discussing grant submission best practices and review tips and tricks, sessions focused on understanding the postgraduate physician-scientist training pathways and how to advise our trainees in selecting residencies that best support post-graduate physician scientist career development, outcomes and workforce data, admissions, and a series of lightning talks to share best practices. Our own Leigh Ann Gardner presented a lightning talk on the Vanderbilt MSTP’s Mock Study Section! Dr. Chris Williams said “I was proud to see our leadership team so visible across the meeting. From helping shape the program, contributing to the sessions, and sharing what we’ve built at Vanderbilt with peer programs nationally. That kind of engagement from the physician scientist training community is how the field moves forward.”
