PORTAL—A Dual MD/MSCR Degree Program at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

P AT I E N T- O R I E N T E D R E S E A R C H , T R A I N I N G , A N D L E A D E R S H I P

PORTAL A Dual MD/MSCR Degree

The Icahn School of

at Mount Sinai 1

P O R TA L : PAT I E N T- O R I E N T E D R E S E A R C H , T R A I N I N G , A N D L E A D E R S H I P

PORTAL The Patient-Oriented Research, Training, and Leadership (PORTAL) program offers a unique opportunity for students with clinical research experience to earn a dual MD/ MSCR degree.

PORTAL is a highly selective, strongly mentored program, designed to encourage the career development of medical students who seek to become leaders as physician-scientists.

Using a multidisciplinary approach, students in the PORTAL program obtain rigorous didactic and practical training in the field of clinical investigation from their second year of medical school.

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A DUAL MD/MSCR DEGREE

The Icahn School of

at Mount Sinai 3

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A D UA L M D/ M S C R D E G R E E P R O G R A M

“

As a member of the PORTAL program, I have had the unique opportunity to work closely with a mentor who has supported me in every way throughout this journey. Learning from her expertise has strengthened my passion for research, as well as my research analytical and presentation skills.

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— E RICA MONROSE MD/MSCR Candidate

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I C A H N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT M O U N T S I N A I

CONTENTS Prog ra m E nt r y..................... 6 Tu i ti on a n d St i p e n d. ........... 7 C ou r s es .. . . . ........................ 10 M entor s. . . . . ......................... 11 Th es i s Res e a rc h. .............. 14 A ppli c ati on P ro c e s s. ........ 15

The Icahn School of

LEGEND MAKERS

at Mount Sinai

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P O R TA L : A D UA L M D/ M S C R D E G R E E P R O G R A M

PORTAL faculty mentors are a crucial part of students’ research experience.

Program Entry Current Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) students are eligible to apply to the program.

ISMMS students will begin the program during their second year of medical school. PORTAL adds a fifth year to the traditional fouryear medical school track. This additional Scholarly Year provides the opportunity for students to dedicate uninterrupted time to the completion of a scholarly project and thesis.

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I C A H N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT M O U N T S I N A I

Tuition and Stipend Students selected for the PORTAL program will receive full scholarships to cover the tuition of the MSCR degree. In addition, students receive a stipend to fund their Scholarly Year to cover living expenses—including healthcare—and conference travel.

FEATURED MENTORS: James Ferrara, MD, DSc (above) and Tatyana Kushner, MD, MSCE, ISMMS ‘10 (left).

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A D UA L M D/ M S C R D E G R E E P R O G R A M

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I am continually impressed with the PORTAL students’ ability to conduct sophisticated and complex basic or clinical research while never losing focus of the patient.

— M ARY ROJAS, PHD

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Director, MSRO

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Meet leaders of MSRO (from left to right): Jenny Lin, MD, Associate Director, MSRO; Keith Sigel, MD, PhD, Director of PORTAL; and Mary Rojas, PhD, Director, MSRO.

I C A H N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT M O U N T S I N A I

The Icahn School of

at Mount Sinai

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P O R TA L : A D UA L M D/ M S C R D E G R E E P R O G R A M

REQUIRED PORTAL Courses The PORTAL curriculum provides a strong foundation for future independent patient-oriented research.

Spectrum of Measurements in Clinical and Translational Research Spectrum is a broad overview course of clinical research methods and analytical techniques, ranging from observational

In addition to required courses (at right),

and experiment study designs to

students also have the opportunity to

genomic analysis.

take an elective course in a wide variety of areas, including other Graduate School programs such as the Master of Public

Introduction to Biostatistics Covers the basic tools for the collection, analysis, and presentation

Health; the Master of Science in Genetic

of data in all areas of basics, clinical and

Counseling; and the Design, Technology,

translational research. Central to these

and Engineering PhD training area. These

skills is assessing the impact of chance

courses cover a broad array of disciplines

and variability on the interpretation

and methods across the full spectrum of clinical and translational research.

The program is designed to enable participants to translate the discoveries about the mechanisms underlying disease, made in the laboratory, into new approaches to prevention, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease.

Moreover, the program aims to make these new approaches part of clinical practice.

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of research findings and subsequent implications on the understanding of disease mechanisms, drug discovery and development, and applications to clinical practice.

I C A H N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT M O U N T S I N A I

COURSES Multivariable Analysis Course provides an introduction to regression methods for a single continuous and categorical response, and survival data, with applications to epidemiological and clinical studies.

Professionalism and Ethics in Clinical Research Begins with a review of some of the landmark cases of unethical use of human subjects in research, the policies that shape our current understanding of the ethical conduct of research, and the mechanisms for research oversight that

Mentors

have been instituted. Through readings

The most important part of the research

and discussion we examine a number of

experience is the mentor. ISMMS’s

controversial and pressing issues.

Medical Student Research Office

Computational Tools for Clinical Research

(MSRO) works with each PORTAL scholar to pair her/him with a research

Course provide a working knowledge

investigator who is actively working in

of essential tools for the acquisition,

the content area selected by the student

management and analysis of data.

and is committed to helping the student

Journal Club and Seminar Series

develop as a researcher. Faculty from a

A forum for the development of critical

large number of departments serve as

thinking and fosters real time utilization

mentors. Often, students will select two

of recently learned analytical tools and

faculty mentors who represent different

methodology. In a structured format

though complementary disciplines.

we dissect and discern the specific research question and hypothesis posed; the appropriateness of the experimental design and the nature of the statistical methods employed in a given article.

PORTAL student, Anthony Bui, with his mentor Tatyana Kushner, MD, MSCE, ISMMS ‘10.

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A D UA L M D/ M S C R D E G R E E P R O G R A M

“

PORTAL was a truly transformative experience for me.

From classes that covered the highest quality clinical research methods to the immersive research year, I now feel much better prepared for a career in translational research.

”

— H RISHI SRINAGESH

MD/MSCR Candidate

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I C A H N S C H O O L O F M E D I C I N E AT M O U N T S I N A I

The Icahn School of

INNOVATIVE

RESEARCHERS

at Mount Sinai

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P O R TA L

Thesis Research For their thesis research, students pursue their own scholarly projects in an area of their choice, guided by a faculty mentor, a thesis committee, and the program directors. Completion of a research project offers students an awareness of the research experience from the formulation of the research question, to the design and conduct of a protocol, to analysis and presentation of the findings, to finally the publication of research results. Time for thesis

PORTAL: A Dual MD/MSCR Degree Program

research is built into the program during the following periods: The Scholarly Year, following the

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third year of medical school Additional time may be arranged

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during elective periods in the final year of medical school

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Application Timeline

Application Process During the first year of medical school, PORTAL conducts a call for applications. An information session about the program curriculum and application process is held prior to the application due date. Students applying to the PORTAL program will complete a brief application describing their research experience and future plans. Selected applicants who are

School Year Overview

being considered for the program, are then invited for an interview with PORTAL faculty.

Please direct all inquiries about PORTAL to:

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Student Research Office One Gustave L. Levy Place, Box 1255 New York, NY 10029 Email:

medicalstudentresearch@mssm.edu Website:

icahn.mssm.edu/MSRO

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One Gustave L. Levy Place New York, NY 10029 Tel: 212-241-6696

icahn.mssm.edu