The Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program is comprised of the world-class biomedical research institutions Weill Cornell Medicine, The Rockefeller University, and Memorial Sloan Kettering. The close proximity among the three institutions and their associated hospitals have naturally led to a culture that encourages interinstitutional interactions and shared resources, whether it be research collaborations and research core facilities, the education and training of medical, graduate, and MD-PhD students, or the training of post-doctoral and clinical fellows. The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program is but one of many such collaborations on the tri-institutional campus.
The Program grew out of three predecessor programs: the Cornell/Rockefeller Program, founded in 1972; the Cornell/Sloan Kettering Program, founded in 1981; and the Cornell/Cornell Program, founded in 1984. The present Program was founded in 1991. The Program has received Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) support from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the US Public Health Service since 1974.
Katharine Hsu, MD, PhDGraduates of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program, including the predecessor Programs, have gone on to do what we trained them for. Our alumni have successful careers because they master two complementary skill sets. On the one hand, they have an advanced understanding of biomedical science based on state-of-the-art research projects conducted in leading research laboratories, which enables them to lead the quest toward elucidating basic biological processes pertaining to human health and disease. On the other hand, they are grounded in human biology, pathobiology, and clinical medicine, and are thereby able to connect what happens at different levels of biological complexity, which enables them to transfer advances in laboratory research to the understanding, prevention, and treatment of human disease.
Our trainees come from all backgrounds and become immersed in a culture that values diversity and that inculcates the excitement of modern biomedical research through a rigorous, yet flexible, tailored course of study with unrestricted access to experienced mentors who are leaders in their field. They will savor the sense of excitement that permeates the three institutions, where major advances occur on a daily basis, and where they are able to discuss their work with leading investigators from around the world in formal and informal settings.
The Program’s mission is to educate and train a diverse and empowered group of physician-scientists who are prepared to bridge the gap between laboratory research and clinical medicine, thereby improving health and enhancing the quality of life by reducing disability and death from disease. Graduates of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program are prepared (and expected) to be leaders in all aspects of modern biomedical research and academic medicine.
If these possibilities appeal to you, please contact the Program Office to learn more about us.