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Biological and Biomedical Sciences | / | Immunology | / | Neuroscience | / | Virology | // | Leder Medical Sciences | // | HILS Programs |
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Biological and Biomedical Sciences | / | Immunology | / | Neuroscience | / | Virology | // | Leder Medical Sciences | // | HILS Programs |
Leder Medical Sciences Program SummaryLMS Information SessionThere will be an information session to introduce the Leder Medical Science Program for all first year HILS students. It will be held on Oct. 15, 5-6 PM, with light refreshments, in the NRB room number 350, on the medical school campus. This session will allow you to learn about the LMS Program, how to apply, and the time table for various aspects of the Program. Any first year HILS student is eligible for the Program. Members of our first two classes of LMS students will be in attendance so that you can meet and talk to them as well. Applications are due Nov. 5, 2007. Download application here. IntroductionThe future success of translational research relies upon dedicated and talented individuals who are well versed in the science of human biology. To provide formal training in this area for Harvard life sciences PhD students, we are establishing the Leder Medical Sciences (LMS) Program, honoring Dr. Phillip Leder, outgoing Chair of the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. This Program is for HILS PhD students and will be initiated in the spring semester of 2006. An outline of the Program is given below. The Program Administration, with contact information, is listed below. Outline of LMS ProgramThe LMS Program has two goals. First, it will provide PhD students with a working knowledge of the fundamentals of human biology and disease, primarily through a series of courses, to enrich their basic science training and broaden their research interests. Second, it will demystify the culture and practice of medicine, facilitating future collaborations with clinicians and physician-scientists, through activities designed to bring students into a hospital environment into direct contact with physicians, patients, medical students, and physician-scientists. The full program runs for one and one half years, beginning in Spring of the G1 Year, and it will be interdigitated with a student’s other graduate program requirements. Students who successfully complete the LMS Program will receive a certificate of distinction with their PhDs. Students who do not enter the LMS program but wish to learn about human biology will have access to all LMS courses on an ad hoc basis. After the formal LMS Program is completed, students will be encouraged to continue to develop careers in human biology through ongoing mentoring and extracurricular activities throughout their time at Harvard. However, there is no requirement that a student undertake thesis research in a laboratory that is working on human biology or disease as any type of basic science is considered to be vital and fundamental for the goal of understanding and treating human disease. ApplicationStudents in Year 1 of any HILS program are invited to apply. A short application and an interview with members of the LMS Admissions Committee will be required. Evidence of a commitment to this type of training and good academic standing will be the criteria upon which applicants will be judged. If there is a greater number of qualified applicants than slots available, a lottery will be held. An application will be distributed in late October/early November and decisions will be made by the holiday break in December 2007. Course RequirementThe curriculum does not replicate the pre-clinical coursework taken by medical students; rather, it focuses on knowledge and concepts of particular use to biomedical investigators. To this end, there are 3 full semester courses and one quarter course that are required. BCMP 234. Metabolism (a course taught for the first time in Spring 2007), HT 035. Principles and Practice of Human Pathology (offered at MIT), and Med Sci 220. Human Pathophysiology are the full semester courses. BCMP 234 and HT 035 are taken in the Spring semester of Year 1. MedSci 220 is taken in Fall of Year 2. MedSci 220 was being offered for the first time in the Fall of 2006 and is a course designed for PhD students. It introduces fundamental homeostatic mechanisms and organ systems, covering both normal and disease states. Several longitudinal themes (immunology, cancer, genetics, and developmental abnormalities) integrate concepts across organ systems. Students observe physiology in practice through field trips to clinical outpatient units (e.g., a dialysis unit, an exercise physiology lab, a cardiac function lab) and the operating room. The one required quarter course is BCMP300. Translational Pharmacology. This is a 9 day course in January which will be taken in Year 2. It is taken with physicians of the Clinical Scholars Program, with projects developed by small groups of LMS students and physicians. In addition to the above courses, one full semester and one quarter elective course are required. These will be chosen in consultation with an LMS Program Advisor to allow students to broaden their exposure to human biology and to study selected topics (e.g., immunology, neuroscience, human genetics, infectious disease, epidemiology) in greater depth. Electives include a subset of courses currently available to medical and graduate students. They can include quarter courses or nanacourses. A list of some of the courses that satisfy elective requirements is available, and many more courses can be chosen for this requirement. All courses taken for the LMS Program can be counted towards a student’s requirements for their PhD Program, as allowed by each individual PhD Program. Clinical ExperiencesIn parallel with formal courses, LMS students will have structured opportunities to learn about the culture of medicine and explore roles for basic scientists in clinical settings. LMS students will attend pre-selected clinical conferences at the major teaching hospitals and meet with physicians to discuss conference topics in a journal club format. In Year 2 of the Program, they will engage in the Mentored Clinical Case Book Project (MCCB or MR700). In this course, each LMS student will follow a patient longitudinally and develop their observations into a written case. They will be introduced to the patient by the patient’s physician, and will meet in small groups with medical students and a faculty mentor to develop the case. In addition to these activities, LMS students will have seminar sessions with hospital fellows and junior faculty to learn about translational investigation. Each LMS student will also be assigned a clinical mentor, chosen according to the student’s research interests. Links:Coming Soon. LMS Program AdministrationDirectorConnie CepkoProfessor of Genetics Associate DirectorsFrank BunnProfessor of Medicine Jim Adelstein Paul C. Cabot Distinguished Professor of Medical Biophysics Thomas MichelProfessor of Medicine Steering CommitteeDavid AltshulerAssoc. Prof. of Genetics Pat D’Amore Prof. of Ophthalmology Elizabeth EngleAssoc. Prof. of Neurology Randy KingAssist. Prof. of Cell Biology Elio RaviolaBullard Prof. of Neurobiology Heidi RehmInstructor in Pathology/Markey Alumnus David ReichAssist. Prof. of Genetics Jeffery TongVice President/Markey Alumnus |
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