Harvard-MIT HST vs Stanford

[Farmerboy]

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[Member17110]

Stanford. Hands down.

My impression is that HST's reputation for innovation and collaboration with industry stems mostly out of its engineering PhD program at MIT, not from its MD or even its MD-PhD program.

One of the smartest people I know got a PhD from HST before doing an MD at Stanford. I think it says a lot when someone who already earned at PhD at HST chooses to go to medical school at Stanford rather than just transferring into the HST MD-PhD program....

 

[alamo4]

I am curious as to how people view certain features of the two medical school programs listed in the title. If anyone has had to choose between two these two choices, your thought processes would be greatly appreciated!

I am particularly interested in how these two options stack up in the following regards:
-ease of switching into MD-PhD programs internally (and gaining funding)
-availability/strength of biomedical engineering opportunities
-number of medical students who obtain patents for their IP
-number of biotech start-ups founded by medical students
-availability/strength of mentoring or training for MD students in biomedical business management
-connections to industry
-opportunities for doing 3rd/4th year rotations abroad

I am biased in that I really only know Stanford intimately, but I will try to answer your questions.

I think switching into the MD-PhD program at HST might be a little bit easier. At the very least, you have many more labs and greater likelihood of finding a mentor who will pay for at least your PhD portion. That having been said, the Stanford Dean just told us that he is expanding the MD-PhD slots by 50% over the next 5 years.

The Stanford BioE department itself is pretty new. However, if in general you mean biomedical engineering, then I think Stanford has a bit of an edge. Because the hospital and university are right next to each other and are smaller, there is more of a flow of ideas and people in a more seamless way. In general the engineering departments and design school have a more close collaboration overall. I think in that way it is a better environment for MD students to interact. It is easier to get access to engineers.

I have no idea about the relative number of students who get patents. My impression is that Stanford students have a much easier time in getting funding for their projects. Both schools try very hard to commercialize and capitalize on their innovation. Right now though, it is hard to beat being in Silicon Valley (although people here will tell you that all the hot new companies are up in San Francisco). Just by way of background, if you look on a map, you'll see that the hospital borders Sand Hill Road. It is basically this tiny road where all the VC's sit on their piles of gold looking for innovations to invest in: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_Hill_Road Keep in mind that the vast majority of patents make no money, of very little money (particularly if you do not start a company and just license your IP) for the inventor at a school.

Again, I have no idea about relative proportion of students on startups. At Stanford, only a tiny fraction of MD students are really starting companies while students or as they finish, but a lot are involved in startups in various capacities. At a guess I would say maybe 2% drop out to start or work at company, and maybe another 5% don't go into residency, but instead head into something like entrepreneurship or business. Some are involved in some of the biotech incubators: http://rockhealth.com/startups/

Tons of mentoring available at Stanford. There are courses in biodesign and innovation where they explicitly try to pair you up with mentors (including successful entrepreneurs). There is a Stanford med student special interest group that has some events/outing/mixers. Also, the medical school as a whole (PhD students, postdocs, etc.) have lots of events and training for business. They also have a program where you can get an MBA in one year. I'd say about 2-3% of students do that. Some others get and MS in stats/epi or do a program where they get an MPH from Berkeley.

Connections to industry are great at both schools/programs. Obviously, being at either school will help get you in the door for a lot of conversations.

Stanford is a little bit less connected to Africa than a lot of the East Coast schools, Harvard included. However, there have been different programs in some regions of Africa, including a lot of work in the Biodesign school, such as big program on cell phone based projects. I know people who have gone to Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Nigeria. Silicon Valley has a strong connection to India and China, so a lot of programs there. Also there are good ties Mexico and South America at Stanford (California has a huge Latino population, which is maybe why). In terms of clinical rotations abroad, I think a lot of that is very individually driven. You have to be very proactive, in contrast with a research project, where you can often use a PI's established connections. I had one Stanford friend who went to Nepal, Brazil, Peru, and Spain before residency. However, part of that was funded by Fogarty money and had a research component: http://www.fic.nih.gov/Pages/Default.aspx

Good luck in your applications!

 

[alamo4]

Someone has asked me for some examples of entrepreneurial/innovative Stanford med students involved in business and the like. These are just a few who come to mind. Sorry for naming particular individuals, but I am just linking to information which is part of the public record, such as lists of company founders or mentions in Forbes.

Pelu Tran: http://www.augmedix.com/about
James Pan: http://ja-m.es
Nadim Mahmud: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/ekeg45kfk/isaac-holman-josh-nesbit-nadim-mahmud-26-27-25/
Muthu Alagappan: http://www.forbes.com/pictures/eddf45jfjf/muthu-alagappan/
Andrew Lee:
http://www.sctheranostics.com/about/