Types of PhD

[deleted329605]

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Hey there MD/PhD forums,

I'm currently working in a biophysics lab (NMR) and I have recently become interested in the way in which research is conducted. Initially when I began working there, it was mostly just learning protocols and rinse and repeating experiments till they worked. This was pretty hard to get excited for. But at the start of this semester I read a bunch of papers related to my senior thesis, and it was very stimulating not only learning about systems but also understanding the data and how it gives rise to models and then seeing what you can do to fill the places where there have yet to be pieces filled in.

I don't believe that it is biophysics that I am interested in per se, but rather the whole mentality of being able to read papers and look at data and from that be able to build a model in your head and based on that trying to fill in the gaps.

So, I was wondering what types of PhD's people go for when pursuing MD/PhD?

Also, would my stats be competitive for an MD/PhD? I have a 36 MCAT, ~3.95 scGPA and ~3.9 overall. Lots of clinical experience and volunteer as up until now I've been focused on MD. I've been in my lab for 10 months now, however no publications (hopefully will have one by the end of the year). I should also mention that I transferred schools after my sophomore year, so I've been only at my new school for ~16 months.

 

[PfNO22]

Also, would my stats be competitive for an MD/PhD? I have a 36 MCAT, ~3.95 scGPA and ~3.9 overall.

There really isn't much more competitive than that!

So, I was wondering what types of PhD's people go for when pursuing MD/PhD?

Realistically, you can do your PhD in almost whatever you want. Some programs will have their own restrictions about which programs participate in the MD/PhD program, other times you can pick any program at the school. Of course if your program has more overlap with med school courses you'll get requirements finished more quickly.

On average, MD/PhD students do their PhD in the fields most PhD students do them in: biology and cell, molecular, etc biology; chemistry; pathology; neuro (!); but those are the most common anyways. You'll notice that the ones I listed are bench research-type degrees. If you're interested in non-bench research (reading papers and thinking about data???) then there aresome specific program requirements to checkout that vary from school-to-school and are too numerous to elaborate here.

And I think most programs would be happy to have more biophysics PhDs.

👍

 

[deleted329605]

I'm a complete noob at the whole MSTP thing. I've only just recently decided to look into it more. I was wondering if anyone knew of ways in which biophysics is utilized in medicine currently. If you wanna link some papers or just mention certain topics that would be great.

 

[Neuronix]

I did my PhD in NMR/MRI. I think it's an exciting area in which to complete an MD and a PhD because basic findings can be translated to clinical trials rather quickly. As such, the highly physics oriented areas of medicine are changing rapidly. I find it very exciting. E-mail me at [email protected] and we can talk more. It's a little easier for me to converse that way for these sorts of things.