Pursuing Regenerative Medicine as a Physician-Scientist

[NeuroRed]

Hey all,

I'm extremely interested in pursuing a physician-scientist approach towards regenerative medicine, and I want to get an education that specializes me in this broad research field -- with particular interest in regenerative cardiology and neurology. There are obviously other reasons for my wanting to become a physician, instead of just getting a Ph.D, but those details are irrelevant for my questions. I have a research background with cardiac stem cells.

1) Would it be worth my time to obtain a 1-year Masters in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (particularly, from the University of Southern California, which is a specialized program for those aspiring to pursue further M.D degrees)? I think this would give me the research experience I need to conduct future investigations of my own, provide me ample knowledge / connections, and most importantly: a robust experience under a curriculum designed for students with my interests.

2) I'm aware that Masters programs are usually only recommended for GPA improvements (definitely not needed in my case), but this is my passion. Are there any considerations of pursing this that may be unwise? Of importance, I have no undergraduate debt. My plan would be to continue with an M.D afterwards; not necessarily an M.D-Ph.D (unless you think I need this, then is it just worth getting the M.D-Ph.D?).

3) Do you know of any M.D programs with a particularly strong base in this field (aside from Harvard, Stanford, etc)? I know Mayo for instance, has an entire department.

Thank you for your insight!

Important to clarify: I'm not trying to make myself more competitive in the admissions process. This field is a genuine passion of mine that I want to explore through medicine -- I just want to investigate the most practical way of doing it !!

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[Goro]

MD schools do not weight research MS GPAs, due to grade inflation and the perceived lack of rigor in the coursework.

 

[NeuroRed]

MD schools do not weight research MS GPAs, due to grade inflation and the perceived lack of rigor in the coursework.

Important to clarify: I'm not trying to make myself more competitive. This field is a genuine passion of mine that I want to explore -- I just want to investigate the most practical way of doing it !!

 

[Goro]

Important to clarify: I'm not trying to make myself more competitive. This field is a genuine passion of mine that I want to explore -- I just want to investigate the most practical way of doing it !!

Go for it. If you don't get into medical school, it's a good back up and could easily lead to your being a lab mgr.

 

[KnightDoc]

Hey all,

I'm extremely interested in pursuing a physician-scientist approach towards regenerative medicine, and I want to get an education that specializes me in this broad research field -- with particular interest in regenerative cardiology and neurology. There are obviously other reasons for my wanting to become a physician, instead of just getting a Ph.D, but those details are irrelevant for my questions. I have a research background with cardiac stem cells.

1) Would it be worth my time to obtain a 1-year Masters in Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (particularly, from the University of Southern California, which is a specialized program for those aspiring to pursue further M.D degrees)? I think this would give me the research experience I need to conduct future investigations of my own, provide me ample knowledge / connections, and most importantly: a robust experience under a curriculum designed for students with my interests.

2) I'm aware that Masters programs are usually only recommended for GPA improvements (definitely not needed in my case), but this is my passion. Are there any considerations of pursing this that may be unwise? Of importance, I have no undergraduate debt. My plan would be to continue with an M.D afterwards; not necessarily an M.D-Ph.D (unless you think I need this, then is it just worth getting the M.D-Ph.D?).

3) Do you know of any M.D programs with a particularly strong base in this field (aside from Harvard, Stanford, etc)? I know Mayo for instance, has an entire department.

Thank you for your insight!

Important to clarify: I'm not trying to make myself more competitive in the admissions process. This field is a genuine passion of mine that I want to explore through medicine -- I just want to investigate the most practical way of doing it !!

At the risk of stating the obvious, it sounds like you know way more about this than you can reasonably expect anyone here to know, so I fear you're not going to receive any meaningful help here!

"Practical" for most of us is to pursue our interests through MD or MD-PhD. That's why "Masters programs are usually only recommended for GPA improvements," and, for the reasons already given by @Goro above, that's not even true other than for the SMPs. You have already done a pretty deep dive, and are asking very specific questions regarding what might or might not make the most sense for you. Nobody here is going to know enough to be able to give you an accurate answer.