There is a long-standing, strong commitment to physician-scientist training at UC San Diego. It is a particular emphasis of our Vice Chancellor for Health Sciences, Dr. David Brenner, the Dean of the School of Medicine, Dr. Steven Garfin, and our Chair of Medicine, Dr. Zea Borok .
The UCSD Physician-Scientist Training Pathway in Internal Medicine is intended for physicians with a strong commitment to an academic investigative career. The pathway consists of two or three years of intense clinical training, followed by subspecialty training including 12-18 months of clinical and typically three years of research training ¾ designed to conform to the American Board of Internal Medicine guidelines. PSTP applicants can choose the two-year ABIM Research Residency Pathway, or may elect to complete three years of clinical training before joining a subspecialty fellowship; in both cases they enjoy early admission to the fellowship of their choice. Historically, most PSTP applicants have chosen the two-year path, but our goal is to provide the best clinical and research experience tailored to individual needs, and the final decision whether to complete two or three years of residency is made midway through internship, in consultation with the Program Directors.
UC San Diego is a rich and productive biomedical science research community. The research portion of the PSTP consists of mentored research training in leading laboratories in the Department of Medicine, the School of Medicine and various other departments in the University.
We suggest that you review the University websites for the Department of Medicine , the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine , the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program and the Moores Cancer Center, as these will provide further details of the vast research community accessible at UC San Diego. In addition, opportunities are available at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, Scripps Research, the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, and the La Jolla Institute for Immunology. Additionally, viewing the Medical Scientist Training Program website and the main UC San Diego website will provide you with information about the broad range of research opportunities available throughout the UC San Diego community.