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Medical Scientist Training Program

Vanderbilt MSTP at the 2018 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting

Posted by on Monday, April 30, 2018 in MSTP Workshop News .

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At the end of the 20th century, the role of the physician-scientist seemed to be under attack, as a pervasive skepticism of the incremental benefit of dual training grew, as well as a decline in trainees (1-4). It was amid this crisis that an MD/PhD student founded the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA) in 2003. Since its formal inception in 2005, APSA has held a meeting in conjunction with the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) every year in Chicago, Illinois. This year, six Vanderbilt MSTP students (Lindsay Klofas, Krystian Kozek, Aaron Lim, Eileen Shiuan, Joshua Thompson, and Jack Walker) attended the conference from April 20th-22nd among over 750 physician-scientists and trainees from 109 institutions across the United States. Lindsay, Aaron, and Jack all received travel awards from APSA!

The sessions at the meeting included keynote lectures, poster and oral presentations, as well as networking opportunities and panel discussions. The theme this year was aging, which was covered through many different perspectives and various disease states by eminent speakers, including Drs. Ana Maria Cuervo, Luigi Ferrucci, Ross Levine, Eric Topol, Mary Armanios, and Timothy Ley. Of note, Dr. Helen Hobbs, who will be coming to Vanderbilt for a Physician Scientist Speaker Series event next year, was awarded the ASCI Harrington Prize and gave insightful talks about her genetics research in cardiovascular and fatty liver disease and her pathway to becoming a physician-scientist. In addition to the conference programing, the Vanderbilt MSTP students mingled with junior investigators and ASCI/AAP members from Vanderbilt, as well as several directors of PSTPs, over dinner and drinks. Based on this successful and fruitful meeting and strong showing from Vanderbilt, the physician-scientist, though certainly aging (5), will be around to stay for the foreseeable future.

Citations

  1. Schrier, RW. (1997). Ensuring the survival of the clinician-scientist. Acad Med. 72:589-594.

  2. Culliton, BJ and D’Auria, J. (1998). The physician-scientist really is an endangered species. J Investig Med. 46:417-419.

  3. Rockey, DC. (1999). The physician-scientist: a new generation or the last. J Investig Med. 47:25-30.

  4. Rosenberg, L. (1999). Physician-scientists—endangered and essential. Science. 283:331-332.

  5. Salata, RA, et al. (2018). US physician-scientist workforce in the 21st century: Recommendations to attract and sustain the pipeline. Acad Med. 93(4):565-573.

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Students Josh Thompson (G3), Jack Walker (G2), Lindsay Klofas (G2), Eileen Shiuan (G3), Krystian Kozek (G4), and Aaron Lim (G2), along with Vanderbilt PSTP Director Dr. Patrick Hu, MSTP Director Dr. Chris Williams, and other prominent investigators gathered for an enjoyable evening at The Alise Chicago.

Aaron Lim (G2), one of the Vanderbilt MSTP student APSA representatives, elaborates on a figure of his poster as another fellow trainee looks on. Aaron comments, “It was awesome meeting such accomplished physician-scientists, including an astronaut! I also got to network with other MD-PhD students from across the country and get ideas for my thesis research.”

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Students Krystian Kozek (G4), Eileen Shiuan (G3), Aaron Lim (G2), and Lindsay Klofas (G2) catch a break from the conference to enjoy Chicago-styled deep-dish pizza at Giordano’s.