# Pathways to Mentorship and Research: Training the Next Generation Physician-Scientists

> **NIH NIH R25** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2022 · $351,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Physician-scientists play a unique role in bridging the gap between basic science and clinicians
through the identification of important clinical questions and translating results to improve patient
care. Unfortunately, the physician-scientist workforce continues to diminish and contributes to
negative, long-lasting consequences in biomedical research. Many residency programs focus
heavily on acquiring medical knowledge as opposed to fostering intellectual curiosity and an
introduction into the biomedical research field. In this proposal, we aim to enhance attractiveness
and preparedness for a career as a physician-scientist during residency training. Furthering the
diminishing interest in a career as a physician-scientist is the ability to identify an encouraging
and successful mentor. There is a critical need for a renewed emphasis on established physician-
scientists as role models to trainees. Infectious Disease and Immunology are fundamental areas
of science that greatly benefits from a robust physician-scientist workforce. Massachusetts
General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, particularly in the Departments of Medicine and
Surgery, has a long track record of training physician-scientists. We hypothesize that early and
longitudinal mentorship combined with development of research and professional development
skills in the areas of Infectious Diseases and Immunology will make the physician-scientist career
path attractive and sustainable. To this end, we propose the implementation of the MGH-Next
Generation Physician-Scientist Training Pathways (MGH-Next Gen PSTP) program in
Immunology and Infectious Disease. The MGH-Next Gen PSTP program is centered around
the following objectives:
Objective 1: Foster the creation of important scientific contributions through strong,
longitudinal mentorship with an emphasis on leadership essentials.
Objective 2: Develop sufficient basic laboratory and epidemiology approaches necessary
to conduct high-quality research in the areas of immunology and infectious diseases.
Objective 3: Formulate hypothesis-based research questions, development and execution
of a research project, and effectively communicate the significance of their science.
Together, these initiatives are designed to attract, train, and retain MDs in biomedical
investigation at the most critical juncture of their career - residency training.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10226306
- **Project number:** 5R25AI147393-03
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Jatin M Vyas
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $351,000
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-08-12 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10226306

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10226306, Pathways to Mentorship and Research: Training the Next Generation Physician-Scientists (5R25AI147393-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10226306. Licensed CC0.

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