I. Background and Overview of Program

The Harvard Medical School Master of Medical Sciences in Clinical Investigation (MMSCI) program provides training in the methods and conduct of clinical and translational investigation for future leaders in patient-oriented research. This two-year degree program combines innovative forms of pedagogy from leading Harvard faculty with an individual mentored research experience in a Harvard Medical Schoolaffiliated laboratory.

Mission Statement and Goals

MMSCI provides outstanding didactic and mentored-research training to early career clinical and translational investigators to prepare them for leadership roles in patient-oriented research.

The major goal of the program is to provide an innovative comprehensive curriculum that allows trainees to develop skills and direct experience in the performance of clinical and translational investigation while simultaneously, through didactic course work, providing them with a strong foundation in the tools and techniques required to be successful clinical and translational investigators.

Program Objectives

1. To provide a strong didactic curriculum that includes training in computational and statistical sciences, epidemiology and study design, biomedical ethics, genetic epidemiology, scientific communication, drug development and safety, statistical programming, and leadership and management in clinical research 2. To enable students to conduct clinical and translational research with an HMS faculty member mentor 3. To provide students with the core skills necessary to write successful grant applications that will help them initiate research careers as independent investigators

Upon completion of the program, graduates will be able to apply contemporary research tools to clinically relevant areas of investigation and be highly competitive for careers in patient-oriented research in academic medicine, industry, and regulatory affairs.

Program Outline / Courses

The program in Clinical Investigation and Translational Investigation is organized as follows: 1. Mentored Research Experience: The core feature of the MMSCI program is the mentored research experience in a Harvard-affiliated research group. During the two years of the program, each student is required to develop and execute research projects under the guidance of a primary mentor and a dedicated thesis committee. 2. Intensive workshops: The central pillars of the MMSCI program consist of intensive workshops and didactic sessions that are complemented by journal clubs, office hours, computer laboratory classes, team-based projects, and presentations. 3. Longitudinal teaching: Between each workshop, further exploration of contemporary research topics will occur at weekly interactive sessions. Novel pedagogic approaches for this longitudinal series include the use of “flipped classroom” methods, where students review and dissect learning material in advance of facilitated discussions. 4. Scientific Communication: This course is designed to complement the didactic and longitudinal curricula through team-based database analysis: presenting the data in figures and tables in