Being an MD and doing research

[Dreaming big]

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Hey,
I am very intersted in doing research after residency, though I am not sure I want a PhD. If I only have a BS in biology and a MD, would it be possible to do research as a attending? Would I be able to have a Lab? How would I get a grant (would they look for the same things like publications?)

Thank you

 

[RxnMan]

...If I only have a BS in biology and a MD, would it be possible to do research as a attending?...

Yes and no. You'd likely be limited to doing just clinical research, and even then, you'd be best served (i.e., your career and the research you produce) by spending time doing dedicated, protected, and mentored research, a la fellowship.

...Would I be able to have a Lab? How would I get a grant (would they look for the same things like publications?)...

Again, you really need research training to run and fund a lab. Your publication record will be a part of any grant application you submit (K awards might be the exception, as they are meant to support you to get training).

 

[Chiasma]

I'm interested in this question as well. But I have had research experience. I started working in labs in the summer when I was 13 (that was when I first learned to clone and use PCR) at Yale. Then I worked in labs in college in developmental neurobiology (mostly stem cell work). After graduation, I worked in developmental neurobio at UCSF for 1.5 yrs and now I'm working in neuroimmunology at UCSF. I have an extensive research background and am currently working on a manuscript. However, I really want to go into medicine and keep doing research. The MD/PhDs that I have come across spend about 80% of their time in the lab and 20% with patients. Is it not possible to have more time seeing patients and still have meaningful research? Would it be restricted to not the basic sciences?

 

[Ariodant]

Depending on your research and your goals. If you do clinical research then yes, you can spend more time with your patients. But if you want to run your own lab, then there's a certain "threshold" number of hours you have to set aside to keep your lab floating with grants, administrative stuff, scientific endeavors (meetings, reading journals, thinking long and hard about the next project), etc.

Now that I think about it, there are a few (very few) joint labs, like the Brown-Goldstein lab at UTSW. I wonder how that works for someone with clinical duties...

 

[Dreaming big]

Again, you really need research training to run and fund a lab. Your publication record will be a part of any grant application you submit

Would they care about any publications from college and medical school?

 

[radiodoc99]

Clinical research opportunities are plenty once you pass medical school. Getting a PhD is not necessary unless you are interested in a specific field. Instead clinical medical research work allows you to see patients and run clinical trial studies.

 

[bd4727]

You'd likely be limited to doing just clinical research

This is just simply not true. Very few if any of the prolific researchers of the past 20years have been MD/PhDs, they are mostly MD only or PhD only. Look at all the Nobel's in medicine as an example. Sure things may be changing a little, but if a person pursues intensive research training at some point in their career (ie a fellowship, etc) they can run a basic lab just as well as anyone else with the same abilities. I am sure if you look at your own institution you will find many MD-only people who are prominent researchers in their field, many of whom don't do any clinical work any longer.

Obviously I am a huge proponent of the MD/PhD pathway, but there are ample programs in place for MD-only students to get dedicated research training after medical school and become basic scientists, and time has shown that this is a very effective path.

 

[big_smiles]

There will be opportunities for research throughout medical school and through residency, but your time frame will be limited, and I guess it depends on what your goals are.

If you are serious about research and want to have your own lab someday, doing a MD/PhD program and/or research residency training (combined post-doctoral and residency) is a good idea. During the dedicated research time, you can get a project up and running to work towards a K award, which will help tremendously when applying for assistant professor positions in academic medical centers.

If you wish to spend a majority of your time in the clinic after med school, it may not be a bad idea to enter a clinical research training program (~1 year) at NIH or an academic medical center to get involved in research while you are a new physician.

Good luck!