Indiana Medical Scientist/Engineer Training Program - Abstract
The Indiana University School of Medicine (IUSM) Medical Scientist/Engineer Training Program (MSTP) has
trained a diverse cohort of physician-scientists/engineers to conduct rigorous, innovative and clinically relevant
research. Graduates are leaders in the biomedical sciences who are applying the rapid advances in scientific
discovery to the development of new treatments for human disease. We aim to partner with NIGMS to support
this program, requesting that 25% of our cohort be trainees on the T32 grant. Our Specific Aims are 1) to recruit
a competitive cohort from diverse backgrounds who have a strong commitment both to research and to patient
care; 2) to train students in basic and translational research and in medicine, thus equipping graduates to
succeed; and 3) to graduate students with MD and PhD degrees who are competitive for the best residency
positions; and who will become leading, innovative physician-scientists/physician-engineers in academics and
industry. A unique aspect of our MSTP is its long-standing partnership and synergy with the Weldon School of
Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Purdue University; the program has already graduated 20 physician-engineers.
A second key feature is our focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). In this regard, our many active
recruitment and feeder programs, including one supported by a new Burroughs-Wellcome Fund grant, have
made us leaders in DEI recruitment, particularly in the Midwest. In the last five years 22% of our matriculants
have come from underrepresented and/or disadvantaged groups, and 50% have been women. We have 108
preceptors with strong training and research records and ~$130 million in grant support. The program’s
excellence is reflected in the increase in applications, from 99 in 2007 to 293 in 2021. The MSTP is the top
training priority for IUSM, funded with $2 million in direct support and several MSTP-specific endowments,
including $10 million from the Eli Lilly Foundation. Our program equips students to excel by providing superior
programmatic structure, curricular content, mentorship, research facilities and clinical resources. IUSM is
Indiana’s only allopathic medical school: it is the largest medical school in the nation, with one of the largest
health systems. Our leaders prioritize student welfare, DEI training and safety. Training is required in the
responsible conduct of research and in research reproducibility and all graduates have published first author
papers. In the last five years, 100% of our graduates matched into top-ranked residency programs across the
nation, including research-intensive residencies (e.g., PSTPs). Long term, graduates are successful in
academics and in industry. Here, we propose to partner with NIH to train the next generation of exceptional
physician-scientists and physician-engineers in Indiana.