MD/PhD's and ophthalmology..

[Ceremony]

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Hi you all. I've been lurking around and posting here and there. I'm currently finishing up the PhD portion of my MD/PhD. This is more of a question directed at the MD/PhD ophthos here on this board and the MD's thinking of going into academia. What do you guys think about the research opportunities in ophtho departments? Do you feel that these dept rigorously support basic science research? Or do you think they want you to do more clinical work? Do you think ophtho departments would be a nurturing and supportive environment for academic research? It seems like every MD/PhD I know of is going into Internal Medicine or Pathology. I know that a lot of MD/PhDs go into ophtho but how many of them end up doing basic science research? I just want to make an informed opinion, and I'd like to know what opportunities are available. What are acceptance rates like for MD/PhD's? Are there stats like that? Basically, do you guys feel ophtho will be compatible with my desire to have a full on research academic career? Would I lose my surgical skills if I do it only 20% of the time? Will an ophtho dept be amenable to a person interested in doing 80% research and not bringing in the clinical income? What do you guys think?

Thanks..

Cer

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Sorry I didn't get back to you via e-mail. I've been real busy.

Take a look at these links:

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=66543

http://www.hhmi.org/research/investigators/nathans.html
http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/dept/BIOGRAPH/stone.htm
http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/dept/BIOGRAPH/kwon.htm
http://webeye.ophth.uiowa.edu/dept/BIOGRAPH/kardon.htm
http://www.wilmer.jhu.edu/staff/cvs/s_merbs_cv.html
http://www.wilmer.jhu.edu/staff/cvs/ZACK.HTM

All MD-PhDs. They all do research. Some more than others.

 

[Ceremony]

Thanks.. I'll go take a look. I've just been trying to get an informed opinion about the next stage of my career.

Jeremy Nathans dad is Dan Nathans who won the Nobel prize for discovering restriction enzymes. I didn't realize Jeremy Nathans was an ophtho... he is certainly an amazing example of a mudphud ophtho..

 

[chef]

hey ceremony, j nathans is a prof of ophtho & visual sciences at hopkins but he's def not exclusively an "eye" guy, as he has prof appointments in 5 other dept's! in fact, his lab/office is not even in wilmer/maumenee bldg. he hangs out in pctb. he does not practice med either.

 

[chef]

also, isnt paul sieving a mudphud andrew? (director of NEI)

 

[Ceremony]

It seems like having multiple appointments in ophtho and a basic science dept is the way to go. The way I see it, I'd rather get hired for the science, and the clinical stuff just being a bonus. But I would like to be able to apply my clinical experience/skills towards my basic science research, or somehow make it relevant. I mean the eye is so freaking complex and there are so many diseases of the eye that encompass so many different aspects of science I don't think I'd have a problem. I'm just wondering about the support. Do they hand up start up packages and let you try and get NIH support? I know internal med clinical depts do that. I'm just curious about the environment.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by chef
also, isnt paul sieving a mudphud andrew?

http://www.kellogg.umich.edu/bios/paul_sieving.html

Yes!

 

[Ceremony]

Well here is a question. Is it "easier" to get into a program (any program really) as an MD/PhD? And what does that mean? Are there statistics about this? Are MD/PhD's NOT attractive to certain programs? Are mudphuds only attractive to research oriented programs? What were your interviews like as an md/phd? Did you feel that docs appreciated the PhD?

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by Ceremony
Well here is a question. Is it "easier" to get into a program (any program really) as an MD/PhD? And what does that mean? Are there statistics about this? Are MD/PhD's NOT attractive to certain programs? Are mudphuds only attractive to research oriented programs? What were your interviews like as an md/phd? Did you feel that docs appreciated the PhD?

Yes, Not sure, No stats, Yes, Yes, Depends, and Yes. 🙂

 

[Ceremony]

Thanks for the response, you rock. So how many programs should an MD/PhD apply to? 30?

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by Ceremony
Thanks for the response, you rock. So how many programs should an MD/PhD apply to? 30?

My colleague at Hopkins applied to 10. I applied to 12.

 

[Primate]

A friend of mine, an MDPhD who is applying for fellowships now, applied to only TWO programs. Now that either takes balls or a small brain. My suspicion is that, even though he'd never say so, he got some "assurances" from his home program. Trouble is, those assurances aren't worth a damn if the program changes its mind.

Still not sure if it was a confident or stupid move. I suppose, since it worked out, it was the right thing for him (jerk).

Most CDs I know also have applied to a dozen or just under that number of programs. Disclaimer: "individual results may vary."

P

 

[Ceremony]

12 sounds reasonable. I was only thinking that there are only about 12 truly research friendly places I would like to end up. I also want to live in California, and there are only a couple of good programs that seem to have a good ophtho program and strong research. It's good to know I won't have to apply to a ridiculous number of places.