About the Program

The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program is training physician-scientists who will become the next generation of leaders in biomedical research. Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center combine to form one of the few inter-institutional collaborations dedicated to joint MD and PhD training.

Graduates of the Program are thus prepared to lead tomorrow's biomedical research efforts and to carry the knowledge acquired from basic research to the bedside. The eminent clinical and research faculties of the three institutions provide a stimulating environment for both basic research and medical training. With over 280 participating faculty members, and an organization that fosters student freedom and independence, the Program offers unparalleled opportunities for individualized research training. Since its inception in 1972, over 400 graduates have been prepared to tackle the urgent medical research needs of society. The Program awards the MD degree from Weill Cornell Medical College and the PhD degree from Weill Cornell Graduate School, The Rockefeller University, or Gerstner Sloan Kettering Graduate School. Each year over 600 students apply for on average 16-18 positions, which are fully funded from start to finish-in part by the National Institutes of Health's Medical Scientist Training Program.

The work of Dr. Darren Orcbach, MD, PhD and Dr. Peter Weinstock, MD, PhD, both members of the Tri-I graduating class of 1998, made possible the first successful fetal intracranial intervention earlier this month. Denver Coleman was diagnosed with life-threatening Vein of Galen Malformation (VOGM) and was treated in utero by Dr. Orbach, the first time such a procedure was done.
Farid Aboharb, a current M.D.-Ph.D. student, took a year away from Tri-I to take part in a collaborative new M.D.-M.Eng. program between WCM and Cornell Engineering.  Farid will be the first student to earn his Master's of Engineering as part of the program this May before returning to WCM to complete his M.D.

1300 York Avenue, C-103 New York, NY 10065 (212) 746-6023