{"id":109893,"date":"2024-04-05T06:56:10","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T11:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/?p=109893"},"modified":"2024-04-05T11:35:59","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T16:35:59","slug":"md-phd-program-receives-1-1-million-in-nih-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unmc.edu\/newsroom\/2024\/04\/05\/md-phd-program-receives-1-1-million-in-nih-funding\/","title":{"rendered":"MD-PhD program receives $1.1 million in NIH funding"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A new National Institutes of Health grant for the Medical Scientist Training Program will bring more than $1.1 million to UNMC over the next five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With this award, UNMC joins about one-third of the approximately 150 medical schools across the country who have NIH-funded MD-PhD programs, said Justin Mott, MD, PhD, director of the MD-PhD Scholars Program in the UNMC College of Medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe NIH put out an announcement looking for programs that had something unique in terms of trainees who were underrepresented in medicine,\u201d Dr. Mott said. UNMC\u2019s strength, he said, is that approximately 20% of its applicants and 20% of its trainees have a rural background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt most medical schools, that number is about 5 or 6%,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition, more than 40% of participating college of medicine faculty have a rural background or their research and clinical populations relate to rural communities. And the program showed geographic diversity, with applicants from 42 states over the past five years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 A rural background can mean a great deal to a physician scientist, Dr, Mott said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cObviously, our experiences shape the questions that we ask,\u201d he said. \u201cStudents from a rural background may be uniquely suited to ask questions about why health outcomes are not as good for members of the community who live in rural areas, why life expectancy is shorter, why there’s higher risk for some cardiovascular diseases and for some infections. What about the exposures about the culture, about the nature, of rural America is different? These scientists are ready to ask those questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strength of the program and its trainees also helped secure the funds, Dr. Mott said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe track record of our alumni matters a lot,\u201d Dr. Mott said. \u201cMore than 92% of the students who come into our program stay and get both degrees, and that\u2019s higher than the national average. And the time to achieve both degrees is at or slightly below the national average. Also, we’re setting our students up for success after they graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trainee research strengths also reinforced program strengths. Dr. Mott said, pointing to two recent federal awards received by students:<\/p>\n\n\n\n