Tri-Institutional MD–PhD Program
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The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD, or Tri-I, program is the MD-PhD program of the Weill Cornell Medical College that is based in New York City. It is an biomedical partnership of the Weill Cornell Medical College (WMC), The Rockefeller University (RU) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC).[1][2][3] Located in the Upper East Side of New York City, the program is directed by Olaf Andersen of Weill Cornell.[4]
Program

Each year about 15 students are admitted to the program; the positions are funded by National Institutes of Health Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP)[5] for the full length of training (usually 7–8 years)[6]. The students have their medical studies at Weill Cornell and may choose a PhD thesis advisor and do their Ph.D research in any of the institutions.
The medical curriculum is characterized by problem based learning and early exposure to medical interviewing. While the Cornell Medical Center is frequented by Manhattan celebrities and the wealthy, opportunities to serve in the new student-run free clinic or abroad in Haiti, Brazil, Tanzania or Weill Cornell-Qatar campus are also available.[citation needed]
Students arrive the July 4th weekend before their first year of medical school to complete one of three rotations for the summer. The first year curriculum is similar to Cornell MD students except that MD-PhD students take Frontiers in Biomedical Sciences I (Frontiers). Students complete a second rotation after their first year and complete second year of Cornell MD curriculum while taking Frontiers II and the USMLE in June. In the Thesis Years (3,4,5 and maybe 6 and 7), students complete thesis research and graduate school requirements in one of the 270 campus laboratories. Clinical electives and courses are offered, and during the 6th and 7th years, students complete clinical requirements at Cornell.[citation needed]
Reputation
The Tri-I program boasts extensive medical and basic science resources. Notable achievements in the past year include the ranking of MSKCC as the nation's top cancer center, New York-Presbyterian Hospital ranked 8th[7] by the U.S. News & World Report, and Rockefeller University as a top biomedical graduate school for cell and molecular biology, biochemistry and structural biology.[citation needed] The institution has been associated with 25 Nobel Prize winners in its 100+ year history.[8]
In 2012, on its latest competitive NIH grant renewal, the Tri-I MD-PhD Program received a perfect score of '10'.
Notable faculty
- Günter Blobel - Nobel Laureate, Intracellular trafficking, RU
- Christian de Duve - Nobel Laureate, RU (deceased)
- James E. Darnell Jr. - NMS, RU
- Jeffrey Friedman - Discoverer of Leptin, RU
- Antonio Gotto - Cardiologist, Dean of Weill Cornell
- Paul Greengard - Nobel Laureate, RU (deceased)
- David Ho - HIV/AIDS, , RU
- Joshua Lederberg - NMS, Nobel Laureate, RU (deceased)
- Lloyd Old - Discoverer of Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, MSKCC (deceased)
- Roderick MacKinnon - Nobel Laureate, Ion Channels, RU
- Sir Paul Nurse - Nobel Laureate, president of RU
- Torsten Wiesel - NMS, Nobel Laureate, RU
- Harold Varmus - Nobel Laureate, president of MSKCC
Housing
Subsidized housing by the program is available to Tri-I students for all years. T
Placement
The Students often proceed to internal medicine or pathology residencies either at Weill Cornell Medical College, Harvard University (Brigham and Women's Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital) or University of California, San Francisco. So far, 80% of the nearly 150 graduates hold academic posts in a basic research or clinical capacity.[citation needed]
See also
- U.S News & World Reports Best Medical Schools Rankings
- Weill Medical College of Cornell University
- Weill Graduate School of Medical Sciences of Cornell University
- Rockefeller University
- Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
- Tri-Institutional Training Program in Computational Biology and Medicine
References
- ^ Paul Smaglik. New York: Building cooperation.Nature. vol. 419, no. 4-5 (September 2002). Accessed July 3, 2008.
- ^ Weill Cornell: from scholars to scientists. The Scientist. November 22, 2004. Accessed July 3, 2008
- ^ Stem Cell Research in New York City Receives Pivotal Boost From The Starr Foundation; New Tri-Institutional Collaboration Aimed at Realizing Potential of Stem Cell Research. AScribe Medicine News Service. May 23, 2005. Accessed July 3, 2008.
- ^ "Faculty Directory for the Dept. of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell Medical College". physiology.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
- ^ "Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Institutions - National Institute of General Medical Sciences". www.nigms.nih.gov. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
- ^ "Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program". weill.cornell.edu. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
- ^ "US News and World Report Best Hospitals, 2017-2018". US News and World Report. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
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(help) - ^ "Nobel Prize - About". About. Retrieved 2018-01-29.
External links
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