Physician Scientist Pathways

Although well known for its clinical practice, Mayo Clinic has strong programs in both laboratory and clinical research.  Most Mayo medical staff members participate in some form of research activity.  For more specific information on research activities at Mayo Clinic Rochester visit: http://mayoresearch.mayo.edu/mayo/research/departments-mcr.cfm.

Physician Scientist Pathways
We offer several different pathways for those interested in more rigorous research careers with combined internal medicine residency/subspecialty fellowship programs.  This includes our Clinician Investigator Pathway, which matches interns and second-year residents into combined training programs.  The length and timing of internal medicine training can be customized and limited to two years using the American Board of Internal Medicine Subspecialty Research Pathway. We offer a variety of NIH-sponsored training positions within the various subspecialties of internal medicine. Mayo also offers the Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), which is designed to allow professionals, after residency training, to customize a program to meet specific clinical research career goals.

Resident Scholarship Program
All residents participate in at least one scholarly project during residency. Residents may pursue projects ranging from basic science “bench” research to more clinically oriented studies, including health services research, quality improvement, or medical education research. In fact, Mayo residents typically complete several scholarly projects during their training, resulting in publications and national presentations. Research productivity for the 48 graduates who completed residency in June 2009 included 107 peer-reviewed published manuscripts and 220 presentations at peer-reviewed regional, national, and international meetings during their three years of training.

The research productivity of previous classes has been remarkably similar, reflecting the rich academic milieu at Mayo Clinic Rochester, our resident research curriculum, faculty and institutional support, and the diversity of scholarly opportunities. Some of the unique opportunities for scholarship include Mayo Clinic's unified medical record system--available to residents for project assistance--and the Department of Health Sciences Research, which oversees the Rochester Epidemiology Project which uses a computer program to retrieve patient records according to diagnoses.  This is the longest continuously funded NIH study. 

Residents are encouraged to submit papers and abstracts to scientific societies. Mayo provides travel, time off, and expense reimbursement for presentations and abstracts accepted at regional and national meetings.  Domestic travel, per diem costs, and registration are provided to most meetings where residents have their work accepted, and coverage is arranged so that vacation days need not be used. More Mayo Clinic Rochester residents have received first-place awards at the American College of Physicians (ACP) Associates Abstract Competition each year than any other training program.


Bench to bedside
Mayo Clinic is committed to basic and clinical research that leads to better patient care.

Mayo Clinic's hallmark is teamwork:

• Among basic and clinical investigators
• Among investigators and clinical practitioners
• Across Mayo Clinic sites
• Between Mayo Clinic and other institutions

Mayo Clinic people in research:

• 350+ physicians and medical scientists
• 550+ students
• 2,200+ administrative and allied health staff

Research and education funding sources for 2008:

• Overall funding in 2008 for Mayo research and education programs was $763 million
• Government, foundations and industry sources provided $372 million   
• Mayo Clinic invested $391 million in research and education in 2008

Clinician Investigator Program
The Clinician Investigator Training Program (CITP) includes two years of funded research with the Mayo Clinic mentor and lab of your choosing. The research training bridges the Internal Medicine Residency and an Internal Medicine subspecialty fellowship and does not usually lengthen the total time of your appointments.

There are three clinician investigator positions available for each incoming Internal Medicine (IM) class of 48 residents. These persons match into the IM Categorical Clinical Investigator (CI) Residency program (1328140C1). They are appointed to the IM residency and pre-appointed to the CITP and an IM subspecialty fellowship. Two additional CITP positions are selected from the PGY-2 class during IM training. These two additional positions are available to candidates who are not selected into the three IM research positions and who were undifferentiated regarding subspecialty training at the time of the IM residency match.

IM Research Residency candidates select an IM subspecialty fellowship and interview with one of the IM subspecialty fellowship program directors during the IM residency interview.  This proves helpful to both the candidate and the program. We encourage you to let us know the IM subspecialty in which you are interested when you schedule your IM Residency interview. This notification will allow us to make arrangements for you to meet with the appropriate fellowship program director on the second day of interviews.

Please note that selection into the CITP is very competitive. Successful candidates for the CITP have demonstrated considerable accomplishments and interest in research.

International candidates for the Clinical Investigator Training Program must read the information regarding the visa options and requirements.