I read on downstate's website about their research opportunities, and i emailed the director Stanley Friedman, so this is what i know: apparently they accept 2-5 students a year into the program, and they are fully funded, though not by the NIGMS--aka, MSTP. Generally, if you are interested in molecular and cell biology and neurobiology, they seem to have a decent amount of opportunities. As a matter of a fact, they have one nobel prize winner in the molecular and cellular biology department, so i'm pretty sure the research there is pretty solid. However, the neuro and cell and molec departments are the ONLY research opportunities--so in other words, there are not a lot of opportunities available.
Regarding NYMC, i don't know.
I think generally you see more publications coming out of Downstate than NYMC. I was at Downstate for MD/PhD interview. Besides Brooklyn and old facilities, they seem to do pretty well in terms of research. I met with about 6 faculty members and they were all cell bio/molec bio. If you want to go into that field, they have some interesting projects going on there.
