MSTP Blog
Another Successful Mini-MSTP!
May. 30, 2019—Students from Vanderbilt’s Medical Scientist Training Program hosted middle school students from LEAD Academy and their teachers for a series of interactive activities focused on science and medicine. (Vanderbilt University) Students from Vanderbilt’s Medical Scientist Training Program recently hosted on campus 160 fifth- and sixth-graders from LEAD Academy and Dickson County Schools to introduce them to physician-scientist...
Four Years Later and Still Friends: Reflections on Halfway to MD/PhD
May. 30, 2019—The rising G3 class just celebrated our halfway party with a wonderful evening at Fifth and Taylor. During our time in the MSTP, we’ve had two engagements and five weddings, won one Dean’s Award (given to Brad Reinfeld for an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction while scrubbed in), adopted five dogs, four cats, and two guinea pigs,...
Congratulations to the Vanderbilt MSTP Class of 2019!
May. 30, 2019—Congratulations to Laura Armstrong, Lillian Juttukonda, Dan Balikov, Daniel Kashima, Ben Fensterheim, Michael Litt, Nathan Bloodworth, Chike Abana, Melissa Bloodworth, J-N Gallant, Matt McKenna, Matt Stier, Pedro Teixeira, and Jenny Watchmaker! We’re excited to see where life as double docs takes you! Thank you for all of your contributions to Vanderbilt and the MSTP.
Director’s Corner
Apr. 30, 2019—by Dr. Chris Williams (Vanderbilt MSTP Director) This is one of my favorite times of the year. The seasons are changing, warmer weather has arrived, and outdoor activities ensue. Within the MSTP, the M1s have hit their stride, and the M2s have adapted to the dynamic nature of clinical medicine and the constantly changing teams...
2019 AAP/ASCI/APSA Joint Meeting
Apr. 30, 2019—by Rachel Brown (G2) The American Physician Scientists Association’s (APSA) annual Joint Meeting with the Association of American Physicians (AAP) and American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) was held on April 5th-7th, 2019 in Chicago. MSTP trainees Aaron Lim (G3), Ayaka Sugiura (G3), Andy Hale (G2), Rachel Brown (G2), and Patrick Wu (G2) received MSTP...
Meet Goodpasture Associate College Adviser: Jeeyeon Cha, MD, PhD
Apr. 30, 2019—by Ayesha Muhammad (G1) Dr. Jeeyeon Cha, is one of our newest PSTP advisors for Goodpasture College. Dr. Cha completed her training with the University of Cincinnati MSTP. She is currently a fellow in adult endocrinology and has enjoys studying conserved mechanisms across species, which can have big impacts in our understanding of human disease. Dr....
Life in the MSTP – April 2019
Apr. 29, 2019— Congratulations to Ben Fensterheim (M4) on his engagement to Tori Waddell! Chris Wijers (G1) and Alissa Cutrone (M2) recently got engaged in Centennial Park. Congratulations to the happy couple! As part of the Physician-Scientist Speaker Series, the Vanderbilt MSTP hosted Gretchen Purcell Jackson, MD, PhD, Vice President and Director of the Center for...
We’re all #MSTPStars!
Apr. 29, 2019—Not to be hindered by his recent diagnosis of narcolepsy, the stress fracture in his foot, or the fact that he had just biked for 30 minutes at a sustained heart rate above 180 bpm, Eric Donahue (G1) took his talents to the rec basketball courts to compete against undergraduates in the crate stacking contest....
MSTPublications: April 2019
Apr. 29, 2019—Respiratory Heterogeneity Shapes Biofilm Formation and Host Colonization in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli. Beebout CJ, Eberly AR, Werby SH, Reasoner SA, Brannon JR, De S, Fitzgerald MJ, Huggins MM, Clayton DB, Cegelski L, Hadjifrangiskou M. MBio. 2019 Apr 2;10(2). pii: e02400-18. doi: 10.1128/mBio.02400-18. Biofilms are multicellular bacterial communities encased in a self-secreted extracellular matrix comprised of...
Alumni Profile: Britney Grayson, M.D., Ph.D. (’12)
Apr. 29, 2019—by J-N Gallant (M4) Britney Grayson was born in Noble, a single stoplight town 15 minutes south of Norman, Oklahoma. She grew up on both sides of the Red River before enrolling at (The University of) Tulsa for her undergraduate studies. One of the driving factors behind her choice for college was a desire to...
Op-Ed: Checking in, not out: holding on to humanity as a doubledoc in today’s world
Mar. 29, 2019—by Ayesha Muhammad (G1) Friday, March 15th, 2019 was a wonderful day across medical schools everywhere. Here at Vanderbilt, we cheered and applauded not only our wonderful MD classmates who matched to amazing residency programs, but also celebrated the hard work of all our MSTP colleagues, who, after 7 to 9 gruelling years of work,...
MSTP Outreach
Mar. 28, 2019—Brain Blast by Bola Adebesin (M2) For the second year in a row, I had the pleasure of volunteering at the 2019 Brain Blast sponsored by the Vanderbilt Brain Institute and hosted at the Nashville Public Library. As enticing as it is to hold a real brain or to try on vision altering goggles, the...
Honors and Awards – March 2019
Mar. 28, 2019—Simone Herzberg (M1) received the Dr. Robert F. Miller Award for Community Service and Engagement for the VUSM first year class! Graduating M4s were officially inducted into AOA, including MSTPs Daniel Balikov, Ben Fensterheim, Lillian Juttukonda, and Matthew Stier. The chapter also inducted faculty and residents including our very own Brian Grieb (’15). Rachel Brown (G2)...