Director's Welcome

The Mayo Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) embodies Mayo Clinic’s relentless aim to foster research with an eye toward medical applications. Mayo Medical School and Mayo Graduate School partner to offer this exceptional opportunity to a select group of highly talented students who want to pursue a combined M.D.-Ph.D. degree. The program focuses on laboratory-based research training supported by rigorous course work that supplies the intellectual framework necessary to become an independent physician-scientist.

Our MSTP has much to offer students, including a constantly growing research faculty, integrated medical and graduate school curricula, full funding for students, and a dedicated administration team. Mayo Medical School and Mayo Graduate School each play an important role in the training of M.D.-Ph.D. students. Mayo Medical School builds upon the patient-centered focus and strengths of Mayo Clinic to educate physicians to serve society by assuming leadership roles in medical practice, education and research.Mayo Graduate School provides advanced scientific training in biomedical research in a resource-rich, collaborative environment dedicated to scientific discovery. The M.D.-Ph.D. Program forms a natural bridge between these two exceptional settings that enables students to become not only outstanding clinicians but also exceptional laboratory-based scientists. The clinical facilities and research activities are highly integrated and provide a unique opportunity for research training in an environment which stresses the translation of discoveries in basic biomedical science to clinical care.

I strongly believe that M.D.-Ph.D.s will play an increasingly critical role in the future progress of medicine. Physician-scientists are uniquely poised to streamline the application of research advances to the solution of medical problems. My aim as director of Mayo’s Medical Scientist Training Program is to rigorously train talented and enthusiastic students who aspire to become outstanding physician-scientists. If you are passionate about the study of fundamental biological processes and their applications in the fight against human disease, I invite you to apply to Mayo Clinic’s M.D.-Ph.D. Program.