Job opportunities with an MD-PhD in BME?

[Macromind101]

If I were to complete an MD-PhD with a focus on Biomedical Engineering, what jobs in healthcare (so the MD part specifically) would best suit me based on my education? I definitely know that I want to go into cellular/molecular biology bench research with the PhD. I want to do something not too different with the MD so I would prefer to stray away from surgery. I was thinking among the lines of medical laboratory technician but I don't really know what's out there.

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[eteshoe]

Depends on if you want to stay in a more academic setting. I only know a few BME MD/PhDs and they tend to do tissue engineering on the research side and cardiology on the medical side. There are also some that work on biomaterial research as orthopedic surgeons. I even know some that do strictly computational modeling (hearts or something like that) - can't remember their medical specialty. There's also industry opportunities but you will still have to finish residency. Sorry for the broad examples but CMB covers quite a bit.

 

[Shifty B]

I did an MD/PhD program with the PhD in biomedical engineering. My research was related to design and testing of drug delivery devices, and I went on to do a residency in radiology. The technological aspects of biomedical engineering are particularly relevant to radiology, including device design, image processing, MRI physics. My PhD experience has been applicable to my clinical field and helped drive my research interests.

I would definitely advise you to choose an MD/PhD program that has a long track record of people doing BME. If you are blazing a trail, you are likely to run into trouble. My school had a history of many people doing BME, getting strong support from the department, and finishing in a timely fashion. At least 1 person a year did BME, and with my class there were 5 graduates in BME. Of the people I remember, here are some of the career trajectories:

Two people: Radiology residency -> fellowship -> academic medicine
Radiation oncology residency -> academic medicine
Neurology residency -> academic medicine
No residency, straight to device industry
Radiology residency -> device industry

As you can see, there are a variety of things you might do.

One thing I don't understand that well is your statement that you definitely want to go into cellular/molecular biology bench research. That sounds closer to many other fields that biomedical engineering, although, as mentioned above, tissue engineering is one possibility.

If you are interested in more info, PM me.