UCSD LogoA forthcoming program may enable scientists to discover more diseases and treatments for the same. The University of California, San Diego School of Medicine is going to conduct a pioneering doctoral education program to aid basic scientists to detect urgent medical issues and develop treatments for human disease.

It is known as the ‘Med into Grad initiative’. This program motivates graduate schools to more strongly incorporate medical knowledge and the knowledge of clinical practice into their biomedical PhD curricula.

Mark Kamps, PhD, professor of pathology at the UC San Diego School of Medicine, commented, “This funding from Howard Hughes Medical Institute will expand a novel education program to help graduate students focus their research in an area where they can make the greatest possible impact on patient care. This grant helps provide our students the knowledge necessary to translate their scientific discoveries into medically relevant diagnostics, treatments, and public health practices.”

William Galey, director of HHMI’s graduate education and medical research training programs, mentioned, “It is important for PhD biomedical scientists to gain an understanding of the real life medical problems faced by physicians in practice. We need more biomedical scientists to appreciate how their research can help change the practice of medicine or public health.”

The UCSD-based program encourages graduate students from bioengineering, neurosciences and biomedical sciences into clinics where the students communicate with physicians and patients. It is called as ‘molecular consultants’ and the researchers cross-educate residents, medical students clinical fellows in molecular models of disease.

The scientists apparently also study about unmet requirements in diagnostics and therapeutics and how their investigation could be centered around to profit patients. They received a $700,000 grant from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) for the program.