The Renaissance School of Medicine (RSOM) at Stony Brook University has secured a five-year, $5.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to support its Medical Science Training Program (MSTP). The funding will continue through June 30, 2030.
The MSTP is designed to train students as physician-scientists by integrating medical and scientific education. It leads to both MD and PhD degrees upon graduation. Since its inception, the program has received ongoing NIH support since 1992 and has expanded over more than four decades.
The NIH created the MSTP to help students interested in combining clinical care with scientific research pursue this path without being discouraged by financial burdens. The grant covers tuition, health insurance, and provides a stipend for participants.
Additional funding for the program comes from RSOM itself, faculty mentors overseeing trainees’ PhD work, and fellowships that students secure from both the NIH and private organizations.
Michael Frohman, MD, Distinguished SUNY Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacological Sciences who has directed the MSTP for 22 years, commented on the evolving nature of physician-scientist training: “The landscape for training students to become the next-generation’s physician-scientists is ever evolving and the program maximizes their education and capabilities during this period of accelerated discovery,” said Frohman. “The key driving force is to instill in them the importance of being able to identify unmet clinical needs and translate research findings based on them into improved medical practice.”
Frohman also noted that graduates typically complete eight years in the program before entering residency with strong clinical skills and experience in translational research. To date, about 150 individuals have completed RSOM’s MSTP. Alumni have gone on to careers at academic medical centers, federal health agencies, and biotechnology companies.
Currently there are approximately 75 students enrolled in RSOM’s MSTP. With this new NIH grant—an increase over a previous five-year award totaling $3.7 million—the school will be able to recruit nine new students annually into the program.