Medical Applicant has no letter from a research mentor - would you reach out?

[Mr.Smile12]

This is a question for residency selection committees at academic programs. I was an MD/PhD student who graduated a couple years ago. After I finished my PhD, I was a witness in a fairly egregious misconduct case against my PI. As you might imagine, I did not request a letter from this individual. (I could not reveal why, as I was obligated to protect confidentiality.)

I later matched to a non-academic program which was low on my rank list. I am generally happy at my current program, but recent revelations have led me to worry that my PI may have influenced my match in a negative way.

1. Say you were interviewing an MD/PhD applicant at an academic program. If the applicant did not include a letter from their PI, would it hurt their application?
2. Would you reach out to their PI during interview/rank season?
3. If the applicant asked (some time later), would you reveal your answer to #2?

Who wrote your Dean's letter? Did the department chair play a role?

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[Mr.Smile12]

The misconduct was research-related. Given the nature of the investigation I wasn't allowed to discuss the matter anyone who wasn't directly involved/aware. Thus, the MD program was completely unaware of the situation (as far as I know).

An advisory dean in the MD program wrote my deans' letter, with input from the head of the MD/PhD program (who was aware of the situation). It did not mention the incident.

I don't understand how your PI would be involved then. I think you are probably overreacting. Your letter from your advisory dean with input from the MSTP director suffices. If anyone were to ask, I would hope that the advisory dean would be the first contact. Then perhaps the MSTP director.