phd programs for medical doctors in usa

PhD Programs

Empowering students to follow their curiosity

Bioengineering PhD

Jointly supported by the School of Engineering and the School of Medicine, the bioengineering program merges engineering principles with scientific discovery and technology to encourage the development of new medical devices and treatments.

Biosciences PhD

panning the School of Medicine and the School of Humanities and Sciences, students have the best of both worlds: the diversity of a large umbrella program coupled with the support of a small academic setting.

The Biosciences PhD program offers 14 home programs representing eight basic science departments and six interdisciplinary programs.

Biomedical Physics (BMP) PhD Program

Supported by the Departments of Radiology and Radiation Oncology, the Biomedical Physics PhD program seeks students interested in radiation therapy, imaging science, and molecular imaging and diagnostics as applied to clinical medicine. 

PhD in Epidemiology and Clinical Research

The PhD program in epidemiology and clinical research will provide methodologic and interdisciplinary training that will equip students to carry out cutting-edge epidemiologic research. The program trains students in the tools of modern epidemiology, with heavy emphases on statistics, computer science, genetics, genomics, and bioinformatics.

PhD in Health Policy

Stanford Health Policy offers a PhD program which promises to educate students who will be scholarly leaders in the field of health policy, and will be highly knowledgeable about the theoretical and empirical approaches that can be applied in the development of improvements in health policy and the health care system. These students will be well prepared for positions in academic institutions, government institutions, and private sector organizations with a demand for high-level analysis of health policy issues.

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Stanford University School of Medicine  consistently ranks among the top U.S. medical schools, and faculty members routinely secure the highest amount of research funding per investigator in the country. 

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MD-PhD Degree Programs by State

New section.

Combined MD-PhD degree programs provide students the opportunity to earn both the MD and the PhD in areas pertinent to medicine.

Combined MD-PhD degree programs provide students the opportunity to earn both the MD and the PhD in areas pertinent to medicine. Below is a list of schools offering a combined MD-PhD degree, with links to their web sites. Please contact the institutions directly for curriculum information and admission requirements. School administrators may contact [email protected]  with any omissions or corrections to this listing.

University of Alabama School of Medicine Birmingham, Ala.

University of South Alabama College of Medicine   Mobile, Ala.

University of Arizona College of Medicine Tucson, Ariz.

University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix Phoenix, Ariz.

University of Arkansas College of Medicine Little Rock, Ark.

Loma Linda University School of Medicine   Loma Linda, Calif.

Stanford University School of Medicine Stanford, Calif.

University of California, Davis School of Medicine   Davis, Calif.

University of California, Irvine School of Medicine   Irvine, Calif.

University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine   Los Angeles, Calif.

University of California, San Diego School of Medicine   La Jolla, Calif.

University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine   San Francisco, Calif.

Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California   Los Angeles, Calif.

University of Colorado Health Sciences Center   Denver, Colo.

Connecticut

University of Connecticut School of Medicine   Farmington, Conn.

Yale University School of Medicine   New Haven, Conn.

District of Columbia

Georgetown University School of Medicine   Washington, D.C.

Howard University College of Medicine   Washington, D.C.

University of Florida College of Medicine   Gainesville, Fla.

University of Miami Miller School of Medicine   Miami, Fla.

University of South Florida College of Medicine   Tampa, Fla.

Emory University School of Medicine   Atlanta, Ga.

Medical College of Georgia   Augusta, Ga.

Morehouse School of Medicine   Atlanta, Ga.

Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Augusta, Ga.

Loyola University of Chicago - Stritch School of Medicine   Maywood, Ill.

Northwestern University Medical School   Chicago, Ill.

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science - Chicago Medical School   North Chicago, Ill.

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (MTSP)  Chicago, Ill.

University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine (MD/PhD) Chicago, Ill.

University of Illinois at Chicago College of Medicine   Chicago, Ill.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign College of Medicine   Urbana, Ill.

Indiana University School of Medicine   Indianapolis, Ind.

University of Iowa College of Medicine   Iowa City, Iowa

University of Kansas School of Medicine   Kansas City, Kan.

University of Kentucky College of Medicine   Lexington, Ky.

University of Louisville School of Medicine   Louisville, Ky.

Louisiana State University, New Orleans School of Medicine   New Orleans, La.

Louisiana State University, Shreveport School of Medicine   Shreveport, La.

Tulane University School of Medicine   New Orleans, La.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine   Baltimore, Md.

National Institutes of Health Intramural MD-PhD Partnership   Bethesda, Md.

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences   Bethesda, Md.

University of Maryland at Baltimore School of Medicine   Baltimore, Md.

Massachusetts

Boston University School of Medicine   Boston, Mass.

Harvard Medical School   Boston, Mass.

Tufts University School of Medicine   Boston, Mass.

University of Massachusetts Medical School   Worcester, Mass.

Michigan State University College of Human Medicine   East Lansing, Mich.

University of Michigan Medical School   Ann Arbor, Mich.

Wayne State University School of Medicine   Detroit, Mich.

Mayo Medical School  Rochester, Minn.

University of Minnesota Medical School   Minneapolis, Minn.

Mississippi

University of Mississippi School of Medicine   Jackson, Miss.

Saint Louis University School of Medicine   St. Louis, Mo.

University of Missouri - Columbia School of Medicine   Columbia, Mo.

University of Missouri - Kansas City School of Medicine   Kansas City, Mo.

Washington University School of Medicine   St. Louis, Mo.

Creighton University School of Medicine   Omaha, Neb.

University of Nebraska College of Medicine   Omaha, Neb.

University of Nevada School of Medicine   Reno, Nev.

New Hampshire

Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth   Hanover, N.H.

Rutgers - New Jersey Medical School   Newark, N.J.

Rutgers - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School   Piscataway, N.J.

University of New Mexico School of Medicine   Albuquerque, N.M.

Albany Medical College   Albany, N.Y.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University   Bronx, N.Y.

Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons   New York, N.Y.

Hofstra North Shore - LIJ School of Medicine Hempstead, N.Y.

Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan-Kettering Tri-Institutional MD/PhD Program   New York, N.Y.

Mount Sinai School of Medicine   New York, N.Y.

New York Medical College   Valhalla, N.Y.

New York University School of Medicine   New York, N.Y.

SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine   Buffalo, N.Y.

SUNY at Stony Brook Health Sciences Center   Stony Brook, N.Y.

SUNY Downstate Medical Center College of Medicine   Brooklyn, N.Y.

SUNY Upstate Medical University   Syracuse, N.Y.

University of Rochester School of Medicine   Rochester, N.Y.

North Carolina

Wake Forest School of Medicine   Winston-Salem, N.C.

Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University   Greenville, N.C.

Duke University School of Medicine   Durham, N.C.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine   Chapel Hill, N.C.

North Dakota

University of North Dakota School of Medicine   Grand Forks, N.D.

Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine   Cleveland, Ohio

Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine   Rootstown, Ohio

Ohio State University College of Medicine   Columbus, Ohio

University of Cincinnati College of Medicine   Cincinnati, Ohio

University of Toledo College of Medicine   Toledo, Ohio

Wright State University School of Medicine   Dayton, Ohio

University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center   Oklahoma City, Okla.

Oregon Health Sciences University School of Medicine   Portland, Ore.

Pennsylvania

Drexel University College of Medicine   Philadelphia, Pa.

Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University   Philadelphia, Pa.

Penn State University College of Medicine   Hershey, Pa.

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine   Philadelphia, Pa.

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine   Pittsburgh, Pa.

Temple University School of Medicine   Philadelphia, Pa.

Rhode Island

Brown University School of Medicine   Providence, R.I.

South Carolina

Medical University of South Carolina  Charleston, S.C.

University of South Carolina School of Medicine   Columbia, S.C.

South Dakota

University of South Dakota School of Medicine   Vermillion, S.D.

East Tennessee State University James H. Quillen College of Medicine   Johnson City, Tenn.

Meharry Medical College School of Medicine   Nashville, Tenn.

University of Tennessee, Memphis College of Medicine   Memphis, Tenn.

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine   Nashville, Tenn.

Baylor College of Medicine   Houston, Texas

McGovern Medical School at UTHealth/MD Anderson Cancer Center/University of Puerto Rico Tri-Institutional Program   Houston, Texas

Texas A&M University Health Sciences Center College of Medicine College   Station, Texas

Texas Tech University School of Medicine   Lubbock, Texas

University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston   Galveston, Texas

University of Texas Health San Antonio, Long School of Medicine   San Antonio, Texas

University of Texas, Southwestern Med Center - Dallas   Dallas, Texas

University of Utah School of Medicine   Salt Lake City, Utah

University of Vermont College of Medicine   Burlington, Vt.

Eastern Virginia Medical School   Norfolk, Va.

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine   Richmond, Va.

University of Virginia School of Medicine   Charlottesville, Va.

University of Washington School of Medicine   Seattle, Wash.

West Virginia

Marshall University School of Medicine   Huntington, W.Va.

West Virginia University School of Medicine   Morgantown, W.Va.

Medical College of Wisconsin   Milwaukee, Wisc.

University of Wisconsin Medical School   Madison, Wisc.

McGill University Faculty of Medicine   Montreal, Quebec

McMaster University of Faculty of Health Sciences   Hamilton, Ontario

Memorial University of Newfoundland Faculty of Medicine   St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Universite de Montreal Faculte de Medecine   Montreal, Quebec

Universite de Sherbrooke Faculte de Medecine   Sherbrooke, Quebec

Universite Laval Faculte de Medecine   Quebec, Quebec

University of Alberta Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry   Edmonton, Alberta

University of Calgary Faculty of Medicine   Calgary, Alberta

University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine   Vancouver, British Columbia

University of Manitoba Faculty of Medicine   Winnipeg, Manitoba

University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine   Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine   Toronto, Ontario

University of Western Ontario   London, Ontario

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MD-PhD, Combined Degree

School of medicine, md - phd, combined degree program.

From its inception, the physician-scientist has been a hallmark of Johns Hopkins medicine and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Indeed, the Hopkins tri-emblem represents the three core values of the institution: teaching, patient care, and research.

The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine offers a variety of opportunities for the training of medical scientists. A combined curriculum leading to both MD and PhD degrees enables students who aspire to careers in academic medicine to obtain intensive training in specialized areas of the biomedical sciences in addition to top-flight medical training. The traditional diversity and flexibility of the educational opportunities at Johns Hopkins permit the design of individualized programs to meet the needs of students with a variety of interests, educational backgrounds, and career goals.

To accomplish our training goals, we expect students to fully commit to medical training while in medical school and research training while in graduate school.  However, we also take important steps to ensure that students are exposed to the intersection of both worlds early in their training, as well as given the professional and career development advice they need to succeed.

In a word, the MD-PhD curriculum at Johns Hopkins is flexible. Most students decide to complete the first two years of medical school before they begin graduate school and finish the last two years of their medical training after completing their thesis work (see the Timeline below). However, students who want more first-hand experience in clinical medicine before beginning graduate work can elect to complete three years of medical school, followed by their graduate training, and then the last year of medical school. This can give them a better appreciation of the potential clinical relevance of their research. In making a choice, trainees consult extensively with the Program Director, the Dean of Students, members of the MD-PhD Committee, prospective research mentors, and their faculty advisors. Students in the MD-PhD Program are automatically accepted to all graduate programs, so decisions regarding graduate training programs can be made with a strong understanding of each program.  The MD-PhD Committee is responsible for program oversight, admissions, and  student mentorship .  Students complete MD-PhD training on average in eight years.

Johns Hopkins interdisciplinary organizational structure means each faculty member may be affiliated with several clinical departments, research sections, and graduate programs. 

Formal graduate programs in the School of Medicine encompass the following areas: Biochemistry; Cellular, and Molecular Biology; Biological Chemistry; Biomedical Engineering; Molecular Biophysics; Functional Anatomy and Human Evolutionary Studies; Cell Biology; Cellular and Molecular Medicine; History of Medicine; Human Genetics; Immunology; Neuroscience; Pathobiology; Pharmacology and Molecular Sciences, and Cellular and Molecular Physiology. Students are also eligible to obtain their PhD in one of the 11 graduate programs at the Bloomberg School of Public Health or the School of Arts and Sciences on the Homewood Campus.  Students may select a thesis mentor from faculty in the Schools of Medicine and Public Health.

The MD-PhD Program also sponsors special seminars and lectures, It also maintains a dedicated library, the Paul Talalay MD-PhD Library, to enrich the educational opportunities of all MD-PhD students. Efforts are made to acquaint MD-PhD candidates with the major advances, concepts, and cutting-edge techniques in contemporary medicine and biomedical sciences.  We also create an environment that promotes a more intimate personal contact with successful medical scientists in this institution.

Admission Procedures.  Individuals who wish to apply for admission to the combined MD-PhD Program of the School of Medicine must submit an application through AMCAS  in which they will indicate the MD-PhD Program.  Once the AMCAS application has been verified and submitted to Hopkins, the applicant will receive an invitation to complete the Hopkins Secondary Application.  Here the applicant will submit the additional materials required for the combined degree.  Johns Hopkins does not allow applicants to apply to both the traditional MD program and the combined program during the same cycle.   

All combined-degree applications are reviewed by a separate  MD-PhD Review Committee  which is comprised of faculty from the basic sciences and clinical arena, as well as faculty from the Bloomberg School of Public Health.  A separate Graduate School application is  not necessary . The MD-PhD Committee determines whether or not an interview is indicated.  In general, the committee is looking for students with a passion for research and a commitment to medicine.  This assessment is based on the applicant’s research experience, letters of recommendation, academic performance and extracurricular activities. The Committee considers standardized test scores only in the context of the applicant’s other credentials. If an interview is granted, the applicant is notified by the MD-PhD Office and after the applicant accepts, the process for scheduling an interview begins.  Interview visits generally occur over two days. Applicants are interviewed by members of the MD-PhD Committee and other faculty members who share their research interests. Applicants have many opportunities to meet with current students and tour the campus during their visit. 

All eligible applicants who are admitted to the MD-PhD Program are funded by the NIH Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) Award.  This program, supported by the National Institutes of Health, provides full tuition, stipend, and medical and dental insurance for students. Due to federal restrictions, only U.S. citizens and permanent residents are eligible for MSTP funding.  Approximately 10-12 MD-PhD students matriculate each year.

Students who matriculate to the traditional MD Program but have a clearly demonstrated interest and experience in scientific research, are eligible to apply to the combined MD-PhD Program.  These students may apply for admission during the fall of their first or second year of medical school.  These qualified applicants are evaluated and placed in the pool for the current application cycle and will be considered for MSTP funding.  

Financial Support.  The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) is supported by a training grant from the National Institutes of Health. A number of exceptional students with unusual accomplishments and commitment to a career in the medical sciences will be selected for traineeships under this program. Such fellowships provide stipend and tuition support for combined medical and graduate study. All students who are admitted to the MD-PhD Program will be considered for these awards. 

Graduates of The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine MD-PhD Program have gone on to become leaders in many areas of academic medicine.

Advice on the scope and opportunities offered by these programs may be obtained from the Director or Administrative Director of the MD-PhD Program.

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Top 10 Best PhD in Medicine Programs

Dreaming of making the latest breakthrough medical discoveries? Whether you’re interested in neuroscience , psychology, or microbiology, a PhD in medicine will give you advanced skills and in-depth medical science knowledge to propel the medical field forward. You’ll feel equipped to conduct innovative research and perhaps even make important discoveries!

Out of all PhD programs, a PhD in medical science will prepare you for some of the world’s highest-paid roles. After all, the average yearly salary of a doctorate-holder in medicine is $153,000 . The best part? You’ll graduate and embark on a career that will make a difference.

Doctorates in medicine are in high demand, and you might even find — we’ll cover all the highlights in our list of doctorate degrees in medicine.

Table of Contents

Best PhD in Medicine Programs and Schools

Harvard university.

Ph.D. Program in Virology

Harvard University  offers one of the most dynamic types of doctorate degrees in medicine — the virology PhD. The Ivy League  school has produced countless world-renowned virology researchers who have invented valuable vaccines and treatments. This virology PhD program involves small student groups for stronger faculty and student relationships.

• Courses/research areas : Molecular genetics, viruses and immunity interaction, and rational antiviral drug design
• Duration : 5 years
• Tuition : Full funding
• Financial aid:  Full tuition & stipend support, health insurance, child support, parent support, and emergency fund
• Acceptance rate:  5%
• Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Stanford University, Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine

Graduate Program in Stem Cell Biology & Regenerative Medicine

Stanford is one of the world’s leading research centers in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. In this program, you’ll have multiple options to meet the course requirements by passing substitute courses or through oral or written exams.

• Courses : Stem cells & human development, chemistry of biological processes, and advanced cell biology
• Tuition : Full tuition funding and stipend
• Financial aid : Grants, fellowships, stipend and tuition support, travel allowance, insurance
• Location : Stanford, California

Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine

Cellular and Molecular Medicine Program

Johns Hopkins is one of the biggest names in medicine globally and the only institution with a surviving CMM program  (Cellular & Molecular Medicine) funded by the Lucille Markey Foundation. In this doctorate program, you’ll research cellular and molecular biology with a focus on the practical diagnosis and treatment of diseases instead of a pure scientific emphasis.

• Courses : Molecular biology & genomics, cellular/molecular basis of disease, and immunology principles
• Duration : 3 years+
• Financial aid:  Full funding, health insurance, fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and grants
• Acceptance rate : 11.1%
• Location : Baltimore, Maryland

Harvard-MIT, Harvard Medical School

MEMP Ph.D. Program

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University are two of the world’s most acclaimed research universities. They’ve collaborated to offer this unique combined PhD program in MEMP (Medical Engineering and Medical Physics) to advance research and innovation in medical diagnosis, treatment, and patient care. Students can choose one of the program’s 11 concentrations to create a personalized curriculum.

• Courses : Molecular diagnostics & bioinformatics, cellular & molecular immunology, and genetics in modern medicine
• Duration : 5.7 years average
• Financial aid : Full funding for tuition, stipend & health insurance, research assistantships, teaching assistantships, and fellowships
• Acceptance rate: 5-7%
• Location : Cambridge/Boston, Massachusetts

The University of California Berkeley, School of Public Health

Ph.D. Infectious Diseases & Immunity

The University of California Berkeley is ranked #2  among top public schools and is committed to student diversity, demonstrated by its dedicated Office for Graduate Diversity. This PhD is a unique program with its multidisciplinary and integrated focus on host-pathogen environmental interactions.

• Courses : Molecular basis of bacterial pathogenesis, epidemiology & control of infectious diseases, and advanced cell biology
• Duration : 5.5 years average
• Tuition : $14,442  per academic year
• Financial aid : Fellowships, scholarships, grants, work-study, and loans
• Acceptance rate : 17.5%
• Location : Berkeley, California

The University of Pennsylvania, Biomedical Graduate Studies Division

Cellular & Molecular Biology (CAMB) Graduate Group

The University of Pennsylvania’s BGS  (Biomedical Graduate Studies) division has around 900 PhD students — 25% belong to underrepresented minorities, and 58% are female. The CAMB Graduate Group is a unique interdisciplinary research program offering six specialized medical discipline areas and world-class facilities.

• Courses : Regulation of the genome, cell & molecular biology, and data analysis for life sciences
• Financial aid:  Full funding, including tuition, fees, and stipend, as well as fellowships and grants
• Acceptance rate:  9%
• Location : Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Yale University, School of Medicine

Investigative Medicine Program

Yale School of Medicine is well-known for its eminent faculty and one of the world’s largest medical libraries. This PhD program specializes in investigative medicine, allowing you to develop high-level creative and analytical skills. It also prepares you with the knowledge to conduct both laboratory-based and clinically based patient-oriented medical research.

• Courses : Topics in human investigation, ethics issues in biomedical research, and methods in clinical research.
• Duration : 3-4 years
• Financial aid : Grants, loans, and fellowships.
• Acceptance rate : 7%
• Location : New Haven, Connecticut

The University of California San Francisco, Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics

Doctoral Program in Epidemiology & Translational Science

The University of California San Francisco is an innovative research institution focusing exclusively on medicine across education, research, and patient care. As a result, it has some of the highest rankings by the US & News Report  in various medical disciplines. The program allows you to choose between 17 concentration areas, including cancer epidemiology, global health, and bioinformatics.

• Courses : Biostatistics, epidemiological methods, and clinical epidemiology.
• Tuition : $11,442  per academic year
• Financial aid : Fellowships, student employment, grants, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships.
• Acceptance rate : 4%
• Location : San Francisco, California

Columbia University, Irving Medical Center

Ph.D. Pathobiology and Mechanisms of Disease Program

Columbia University  is home to several well-known medical research schools. It’s also located close to many scientific institutions, providing valuable collaboration opportunities. This program allows students to pursue in-depth research in basic sciences while focusing on knowledge application at the clinical and patient care levels.

• Courses : Biochemistry, cell & molecular biology, molecular genetics, and mechanisms of human disease.
• Duration : 3 years
• Tuition : $25,248  per semester
• Financial aid:  Training grants, loans, student employment, and awards.
• Location : New York City, New York

Cornell University, Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School of Medical Sciences

Ph.D. Cell and Development Biology

Cornell University’s Weill Cornell Medicine Graduate School has over 330 capable faculty members and $275 million  in research funds. A reputable program, it involves a lab rotation, allowing each student to pass through three different laboratories before deciding on a research focus area.

• Courses : Molecular genetics, biochemistry & structural biology, and quantitative understanding in biology.
• Tuition : Refer tuition page
• Financial aid : Scholarships, health insurance, and travel support.
• Acceptance rate:  11%
• Location : New York, New York

What Do You Need to Get a PhD in Medicine?

You’ll typically need a master’s degree to be eligible to apply for a PhD in medicine. Some universities also require your master’s to include certain subjects.

As part of your application, the selection committee will generally ask to see:

• Official transcripts from your undergraduate and master’s degrees
• Practical experience
• Resume or CV
• Personal statement
• Letters of reference

Preparing for a Medicine Doctorate Program

Research programs early to determine the specializations you’re interested in. Then, read up on each subject as much as possible and keep up with developments in the field. It’s also a good idea to research your potential mentors. You can also build your network by joining aspirant and professional groups with similar interests.

You’ll find different types of medical doctor degrees online based on the core area of study, such as:

• Ph.D. Healthcare Administration
• Ph.D. Epidemiology
• Ph.D. Public Health
• Ph.D. Health Informatics
• Ph.D. Health Research & Policy

In addition to your preferred specialization, assess programs based on funding options, faculty, accreditation, proximity, and cost of living.

Why Get a Doctorate Degree in Medicine

A doctorate of medicine helps you work in high-level scientific, academic, and research positions within the medical field. On average, professionals with a doctorate in medicine have a salary of $153,000  a year.

You’ll also learn several important skills through a PhD in medicine, including:

• Research, analysis, and problem-solving skills for the medical discipline
• Critical and innovative thinking
• Oral and written communication skills
• Information management skills
• Leadership skills

Some of the most common roles and average salaries for PhD-holders in medicine are:

• Clinical Research Manager ( $78,566 )
• Chief Executive Officer ( $156,335 )
• Postdoctoral Research Associate ( $52,270 )
• Technical Director ( $124,783 )
• Physician/Doctor for Emergency Room ( $249,174 )

What is the Average Cost & Duration of a PhD in Medicine?

The total cost for a PhD in medicine varies between $60,000 and $200,000, based on various factors. The program usually takes 3-6 years to complete.

The Difference Between an MD and a PhD for Medical Doctors

An MD is a practicing degree that equips doctors with high-level knowledge and skills to treat patients. A PhD is a research degree that helps you discover new medical knowledge or prepare for academic and management roles.

Key Takeaways

A PhD in medicine can take your career to the highest level and allow you to earn a lucrative salary. Not only is medicine a prestigious field, but it also fosters your ability to make valuable contributions to society. Check out each program on our list and think about which speaks out to your career goals and values. Then, put together a winning application !

Still not sure which program is right for you? Take a look at other options with our guides to the highest paying PhDs  and the best 1-year PhD online programs .

Frequently Asked Questions

How many years is a phd in medicine.

A PhD in Medicine can take between three and six years to complete.

Is a PhD the Same as a Medical Doctor?

A medical doctor does not necessarily need a PhD, as they can qualify with a medical degree. Additionally, a PhD is usually a research degree, not as focused on patient care.

Is a PhD Higher than an MD?

No. Both PhD and MD degrees are doctorate qualifications, but usually with different applications.

Can a PhD be a Medical Doctor?

You can be qualified as a medical doctor without a PhD in medicine, though a doctor can pursue a PhD if they wish. However, an MD degree, which is also a doctoral degree in medicine, is generally more useful for medical practitioners.

Who Makes More Money, a PhD or MD?

There’s not much difference between an MD and PhD regarding benefits and earning potential. However, an MD may attract a slightly higher salary as practitioners are popular and in high demand. While a PhD salary can be comparable, there may not be as many academic and research positions available.

What Can You Do with a PhD in Medicine?

A PhD in medicine qualifies you to hold well-respected positions in academic research centers or teaching hospitals. Additionally, you can continue as a medical practitioner at a higher level.

What is a Doctorate in Medicine (MD) program?

An MD is a graduate program designed for already-qualified surgeons and physicians. It involves rigorous clinical training and coursework to prepare medical professionals for a more advanced level of specialization.

Lisa Marlin

Lisa is a full-time writer specializing in career advice, further education, and personal development. She works from all over the world, and when not writing you'll find her hiking, practicing yoga, or enjoying a glass of Malbec.

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A Program for the Next Generation of Leading Research Physicians

As you explore medical schools with medical PhD programs, consider SGU’s Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) program. Our medical PhD courses allow you to pursue a variety of clinical disciplines and research areas, combined with a rigorous medical education with global impact.

Capitalize on your drive for research and patient care with a medical PhD degree to advance medical science to pursue a career in clinical research or as a medical school instructor.

Choose from among four specialty areas for your PhD degree:

• Medical PhD in Anatomical Education   Provides you with an academic anatomist perspective with training in clinical teaching methodology and practice.
• Medical PhD in Anatomical Sciences Deepen your training in clinical and anatomical research.
• Medical PhD in Microbiology (option 1) Concentrate your studies in clinical microbiology, marine microbiology, parasitology, mycology, immunology, and virology.
• Medical PhD in Microbiology (option 2) Focus your PhD on planning and conducting research, writing in scientific style, and publishing independently.
• Medical PhD in Physiology and Neuroscience Gain in-depth knowledge in the spheres of physiology and neuroscience as a project-managing physician with specialized expertise.

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As defined by the American Society for Experimental Therapeutics , “Pharmacology is the science of how drugs act on biological systems and how the body responds to the drug.

The study of pharmacology encompasses the sources, chemical properties, biological effects, and therapeutic uses of drugs. Pharmacy uses the knowledge derived from pharmacology to achieve optimal therapeutic outcomes through the appropriate preparation and dispensing of medicines.

Pharmacology integrates the knowledge of many disciplines, including medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, nursing, and veterinary medicine. This integrative nature allows pharmacology to make unique and significant contributions to human health.”

Michigan Pharmacology faculty, trainees, and research staff focus their work on understanding the complexity of cellular processes and the disease states can that occur when things go wrong. Some Pharmacology laboratories concentrate on elucidating how information is transmitted to cells in response to ligand binding to cell-surface receptors. Other laboratories work on molecular and genetic mechanisms responsible for disease, addiction, and reward. Still others investigate the actions of novel therapeutics in whole animals and in humans. State-of-the art techniques include induced pluripotent stem cell models, transgenic mouse, rabbit, and zebrafish models, high resolution imaging coupled to electrophysiology, and RNA therapeutics. Key collaborations with physicians provide access to patient samples and clinical trials.

The job market for pharmacology graduates is excellent. Career opportunities exist in the academe, the pharmaceutical industry, the burgeoning biotech industry, and government agencies. Importantly, many member of our extensive alumni base serve as career mentors and advisors to our trainees, opening doors and providing key contacts.

To learn more about where our PhD students go after graduation, see the Rackham Graduate School Program Statistics.

Apply to the Pharmacology PhD Program

Learn the requirements for the Pharmacology PhD Program

Doctoral students receive funding, which includes full tuition, healthcare benefits , and a stipend. The first year of funding comes directly from PIBS. Then Pharmacology coordinates funding through graduation from a wide variety of sources.

Many second year students are appointed to institutional T32 training grants, including the Pharmacological Sciences Training Program (PSTP) , Systems and Integrative Biology (SIB), and the Human Genetics Training Grant. It is also common for senior students to secure individual fellowships after writing an F31 proposal in Pharmacology 502 - Introduction to Scientific Communication.

• Cara D'Amico, PhD,  Scientist, Bristol Myers Squibb Thesis: "Droplet Microfluidics Coupled to Mass Spectrometry for Pharmacological Applications" Advisor: Robert T. Kennedy, PhD
• Josh Lott, PhD,  Medical Science Liaison, Merz Aesthetics Thesis: "Delineating the Specificity of Cannabinoid Effects by Investigating Cannabinoid Receptor-1 Trafficking and Signaling" Advisor: Manoj Puthenveedu, PhD
• Andrea Pesch, PhD,  Sr Regulatory Affairs Specialist, Loxo Onocology Thesis: "Targeting DNA Damage, Apoptosis, and the Cell Cycle for the Radiosensitization of Aggressive Forms of Breast Cancer" Advisors: Corey Speers, MD, PhD and James Rae, PhD
• Naincy Chandan, PhD,  Principle Scientist Research, Genentech Thesis: "Identification and Characterization of G Protein Signaling Networks by Proximity Labeling-Coupled Proteomics" Advisor: Alan Smrkca, PhD

Nnamdi Edokobi, PhD,  Staff Scientist, Choate, Hall & Stewart LLP Thesis: "The Role of Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel Gene Scn1b in the developing pediatric heart" Advisor: Lori L. Isom, PhD

• Julie Philippe Gupta, PhD,  Life Sciences Consultant, Putnam Associates Thesis: "Ankyrin-B is Lipid-Modified by S-Palmitoylation to Promote Dendritic Membrane Scaffolding of Voltage Gated Sodium Channel Nav1.2 in Neurons" Advisor: Paul Jenkins, PhD

Alina Morales, PhD,  Scientific Associate, Viscira Thesis: "Regulation of Chromaffin Cell Exocytosis via Endogenously Secreted Signaling Molecules Acetylcholine and PACAP" Advisor: Arun Anantharam, PhD

Bryan Sears, PhD,  Clinical Research Associate, Univ. of Michigan Thesis: "Investigating the Acute and Chronic Effects of Known and Novel Opioid Ligands" Advisor: Emily Jutkiewicz, PhD

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This is accomplished in part, through an innovative curriculum in which students learn the core basic sciences in the first year, complete core clinical clerkships in the second year, devote the entire third year to scholarly investigation, and fulfill elective rotations in the fourth year. By condensing the traditionally structured training from four years into three, students are provided ample opportunity to pursue their own independent interests.

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Medical Scientist Training Program (MD/PhD)

The Duke Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), trains highly qualified students as physician-scientists, equipping them for solving problems in human disease using the approaches and techniques of the basic biomedical and social sciences.

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Duke's highly flexible curriculum gives students an opportunity to pursue a second degree while enrolled in medical school. About 40 percent of Duke medical students graduate with two degrees. 

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This unique 4-year program works to train primary care leaders who can enter residency prepared to engage with communities and practices to help improve health outcomes.

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Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBMS)

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The Integrated Ph.D. Program (IPP) provides the most direct route to a Ph.D. degree in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBMS). In this program, students enter GSBMS without initially declaring an academic discipline. Graduates receive a Ph.D. in one of our existing programs – biochemistry & molecular biology, cell biology, microbiology & immunology, pathology, pharmacology, or physiology. 

Student Support

Qualifying students receive a financial aid package that includes a full tuition scholarship, stipend, medical and hospitalization insurance (annual premium paid by the GSBMS), and a waiver of the Student Health Services fee. Be advised, due to funding limitations and budgetary restraints for international travel, the GSBMS will only accept applications to the PhD program from international students if they are currently undergraduate or graduate students in the U.S. with an F1 visa.

Ph.D. Degree Timeline

Read about Tim's journey to research at NYMC  and  hear what our alumni have to say about our Ph.D. program.  

Milestones and Student Progress

• Advisors and committees Upon entry to the program, each student is assigned a first-year Academic Advisor who will (a) provide guidance with regard to GSBMS regulations and procedures, (b) advise the student on course and rotation selection, and (c) monitor the student's progress in the program. Each first-year research rotation will have a Rotation Advisor (a faculty member hosting a student in their laboratory for the period of that rotation). Once the student has declared a program, the Principal Investigator of the research laboratory the student has entered becomes the student’s Dissertation Advisor. The Program Director for the specific program the student has entered becomes the Academic Advisor, with special emphasis on course selection and guidance related to GSBMS program requirements and procedures. The Dissertation Advisor and the student establish the Advisory Committee in consultation with the Program Director. Once the student is ready to present a dissertation proposal, usually in the third year, the membership of the Advisory Committee may be modified to form the Dissertation Committee. Students are also encouraged to seek additional advice from other faculty on a one-to-one basis.
• Declaration of discipline (selection of academic program) Students declare their program at the beginning of the second year, by an announced date. Programs have the option to deny the student’s entry, which would force the student to declare a second choice. If no match can be made, the student will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program. According to this schedule, the student will have been admitted to a specific program by the Fall term of the second year, thus allowing an appropriate selection of courses for that term.
• Selection of dissertation research advisor This choice is normally made at the same time as the declaration of program, and is subject to the agreement of the proposed dissertation sponsor. In special circumstances, the selection of a dissertation sponsor may be delayed by one academic term. If the student has not yet selected a Dissertation Advisor, the first-year Academic Advisor will continue to serve on a temporary basis until the student finds a Dissertation Advisor.
• Qualifying (comprehensive) examination During the summer at the end of the second year, all students sit for the Ph.D. Qualifying Examination. In special circumstances, the exam for a particular student may be delayed for a short time. The student will be evaluated on his/her performance on the exam and on an assessment of his/her potential to conduct independent research. Passing the exam indicates that the student is prepared to undertake a doctoral dissertation and, therefore, will qualify the student for doctoral candidacy. Students who fail the qualifying exam on their first attempt may be allowed one additional attempt to pass the exam. Students who do not pass the qualifying exam will be dismissed from the Ph.D. program, but will be eligible to receive a Master’s degree, providing the appropriate requirements for that degree are fulfilled. Each exam will be constructed by the faculty of the student’s specific program, but the format will conform to standards set by the Graduate School. The format shall include both written and oral components. The student will be examined on his or her knowledge of the core concepts of the chosen discipline, including the core biomedical concepts taught in the first year. The student should also demonstrate an ability to think logically and critically, and demonstrate an understanding of how the scientific method may be used to address unanswered questions in his/her field.
• Formation of a dissertation committee Once the student is ready to present a dissertation proposal (during the Fall term of the third year – i.e., shortly after passing the Qualifying Exam), the second-year Advisory Committee becomes the Dissertation Committee. Members of the Advisory Committee can be replaced if their expertise is not relevant to the student’s dissertation project. The Dissertation Advisory Committee should consist of 4-5 graduate NYMC faculty members from different programs/departments. They should be selected based on their scientific expertise, which must be relevant to the student's dissertation project rather than department/program affiliation. One external member who is not a part of NYMC or GSBMS faculty can be a member of the Dissertation Committee upon approval of the Dissertation Advisor and the Program Director. The Dissertation Advisory Committee should meet at least two times per year to assess the student’s overall progress and to ensure timely defense and graduation of the student. Once the student is ready to present a dissertation proposal, the Dissertation Advisory Committee will be the recipient of the student’s final thesis.
• Presentation of a formal dissertation proposal Each student shall present to his/her dissertation committee an acceptable formal research proposal by the end of the Spring term of the third year.
• Dissertation progress reports The student shall present progress reports to the dissertation committee at every meeting. At some point, the committee shall decide that sufficient data have been collected and will authorize the student to prepare the dissertation itself.
• Dissertation defense The student shall provide the committee with a final draft of the dissertation at least two weeks in advance of a public defense of the dissertation. Because a public presentation and defense of the dissertation research is an academic tradition and a Graduate School requirement, the dean must approve all proposed dissertation defense dates.

NOTICE OF NONDISCRIMINATORY POLICY AS TO STUDENTS The New York Medical College admits students of any race, color, national and ethnic origin to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the college. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs. See full non-discrimination statement with contact info .

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Graduation Rates and Attrition Rates of U.S. Medical Students (PDF) This AAMC Data Snapshot provides information on the graduation and attrition rates of U.S. Medical Students.

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Medical Scientist Training Program

Physician scientist speaker series with vanessa northington gamble, md, phd.

Posted by fettigma on Monday, April 29, 2024 in MSTP Workshop News , Science Advocacy .

by Megan Tigue (G3)

On April 18th, the Vanderbilt chapter of the American Physician Scientist Association invited Dr. Vanessa Northington Gamble, M.D., Ph.D., to give a Discovery Lecture at VUMC and to have dinner with students at the Physician Scientist Speaker Series. Every spring, the MSTP invites a distinguished physician scientist to meet with students and share their story. Dr. Gamble is a scholar, activist, and internationally recognized expert on the history of race and American medicine, racial and ethnic disparities in health and health care, and bioethics. She is University Professor of Medical Humanities, Professor of Health Policy and Medicine, and Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University and Adjunct Professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing. 

After meeting with a small group of students for lunch and delivering a very impactful lecture about the history of racial inequities in medicine for the broader VUMC community, Dr. Gamble spent her evening with MSTP students. She shared the story of her career and her lived experiences as a Black woman, which she noted are inexorably intertwined. Raised in West Philadelphia in the 1950s, Dr. Gamble has been a pioneer in her career, pushing past boundaries and working to create new curricula to teach her students about race and racism in American medicine. After high school, she joined the inaugural class at Hampshire College, molding her own program of study in medical sociology and human biology. She then earned her MD and PhD in the history and sociology of Science from the University of Pennsylvania, the only MSTP at the time offering a PhD in the humanities. She completed her family medicine residency at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.  She shared some stories of personal and professional struggles with our community, along with the lessons she learned during this time. She reminded us that it is ok (and encouraged) to ask for help when it is needed and to always remember who we are and that we are good. 

She was offered an opportunity to teach at the University of Wisconsin and became the first African American woman appointed, and later tenured, to the faculty of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine where she was Associate Professor of the History of Medicine and Family Medicine. In 1996, she became Founding Director of the University of Wisconsin’s Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine – one of the first academic centers to address racial and ethnic inequities in health and health care. While at Madison, she also developed the first course in the United States on the history of race and racism in American medicine. When recounting her time in Wisconsin, she told us the importance of finding those who would nurture and champion her during her growth as a professor. She also noted her passion for teaching and how that has shaped her career. She urged us all to follow our passions, to do good work, and to make change through our work. 

Throughout her career, Dr. Gamble has worked to promote equity and justice in American medicine and public health. Working as the director of the Tuskegee University National Center for Bioethics in Research and Health Care, she chaired the committee that led the successful campaign to obtain an apology from President Clinton for the infamous United States Public Health Syphilis Study at Tuskegee. She has also served on numerous national boards and committees, written several books, and shared her work through lectures and talks. Her VUMC Discovery Lecture examined how false theories of innate racial differences and deficits in Black bodies have been incorporated into medical theory and practice and their adverse consequences on the health of African Americans. Walking through various epidemics and historical events, she taught us not only about the long-standing racism prevalent in American medicine but also about the incredible Black physicians and scholars who have fought against these false theories throughout our history. 

Dr. Gamble’s passion was evident and contagious. We hope her visit can spur continuing conversation and action concerning race and health equity within the Vanderbilt MSTP community. We were honored to have Dr. Gamble visit and share her time with all of us!

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What Can You Do With a Medical Degree?

If you don't want to be a doctor who treats patients, options range from research and writing to consulting and counseling.

Different jobs with med degree

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Doctors in the pharmaceutical research field may work for pharmaceutical companies, research organizations or regulatory agencies in medicine discovery, development and licensing.

Key Takeaways

• There are options aside from being a doctor who treats patients.
• An alternative career may require additional training or education.
• Medical schools prefer to admit students who will practice medicine.

After graduating with a medical degree, most doctors complete a full three-year residency training program. While it's possible for medical school graduates to earn a general medical license after completing a single postgraduate year and passing all three steps of the United States Medical Licensing Examination, clinical opportunities are extremely limited for those who don't complete residency and become board-certified.

Most doctors go on to become traditional clinicians, examining, diagnosing and treating patients.

For those who want to treat patients, the long list of medical and surgical specialties includes pediatrics, internal medicine, radiology, psychiatry, oncology, emergency medicine, anesthesiology, general surgery, plastic and maxillofacial surgery, ophthalmology and orthopedics.

Because a medical degree represents enormous financial and personal sacrifice, and pursuing a clinical career means years of rigorous training beyond medical school, most physicians expect to stay in clinical practice for decades. And while almost two-thirds of doctors say they’d still choose the profession if they had their career to do over, according to a 2023 survey by The Physicians Foundation, life as a clinician is not for everyone.

Dr. Steve Liggett, vice dean for research at the Morsani College of Medicine at the University of South Florida and associate vice president for research at USF Health, is a doctor who isn't in clinical practice. As a professor of internal medicine and of molecular pharmacology and physiology, he focuses on research and leads the USF Health Office of Research.

“To succeed in the nonclinical space is going to take additional training,” he says. “It's not really feasible, for example, to be a molecular biologist – which is what I am – and not having had any molecular biology training.”

Here are some careers you can pursue as a doctor, including some that don't require completing residency or additional training.

Pharmaceutical Research

Liggett says he sees doctors who have completed their clinical training move on, after just a few years of practice, to work in early clinical trials and drug development in the pharmaceutical industry.

"They really love it. They don't see as many patients, but they're really involved at the cutting edge of what's going to be the next generation of drugs that are going to come out, often in their specialty,” he says, “and so that is one of the more common paths that I've seen.”

Doctors in this field may work for pharmaceutical companies, research organizations or regulatory agencies in medicine discovery, development and licensing. Potential roles include medical adviser or medical science liaison officer, medical reviewer, clinical research physician, pharmacovigilance (drug safety) practitioner and medical affairs specialist.

Health care consulting is a common path for medical school graduates who move into a nonclinical career, says Dr. Daniel Clinchot, vice dean for education at the Ohio State University College of Medicine and a professor at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center .

They may consult for corporations or insurance companies, he says, or use their knowledge of clinical care to help doctors and clinical health care facilities improve their business and management practices.

Other consulting roles include being an adviser to a medical startup company, working with a market research company, educating physicians on equipment or technology, or giving input on the operations of a hospital or health care system.

Teaching and Clinical Education

Medical schools rely on doctors who can teach for clinical rotations, where third- and fourth-year students learn from preceptors – and experts say schools across the U.S. are struggling to find them. Clinchot says most med schools prefer to hire teachers who have some clinical experience in addition to a medical degree.

Liggett says doctors who choose teaching typically provide didactic instruction for first- and second-year medical students, or bedside teaching with small groups.

"Medical schools are taking that very seriously and want full-time teachers," Liggett says, "and an M.D. could certainly do that.”

Public Health

Public health deals with population-level health problems, including causes, prevention and intervention.

“Some people get a master's in public health " after graduating from medical school, Liggett says, "and then they're able to be more of an epidemiologist and look at national trends, analyze data across states or across zip codes to try to understand environmental basis of disease or the way communicable diseases might be passed, for example.”

But there are public health roles for doctors beyond epidemiology. According to PublicHealth.org, physicians who transition to work in public health "may still provide individual clinical care, but they also devote more of their time to developing public health programs and initiatives. Their credentials as medical doctors uniquely qualify them to advise and author public health initiatives and provide community-wide medical advice and education."

Medical Writing

Medical writers communicate complex scientific and clinical data to diverse audiences. The field includes scientific writers, technical writers , regulatory writers, promotional writers, health care marketers and health care journalists, according to the American Medical Writers Association.

Per AMWA, there's growing demand for medical writers to produce continuing medical education materials, health care policy documents, scientific and medical journal articles , abstracts for medical conferences, magazine and newspaper articles, medical books, advertising materials, regulatory documents including U.S. Food and Drug Administration submissions, white papers and decision aids for patients.

Other Careers for Doctors

• Clinical informatics specialist
• Genetic counselor
• Forensic specialist
• Policy adviser
• Grant writer
• Health care benefits adviser

Choosing a Path

While there are many alternate careers for doctors who want to move away from clinical care, Clinchot says medical schools aim to admit students who will ultimately practice medicine – in part because the U.S. faces a serious doctor shortage that's expected to worsen as medical students and doctors struggle with debilitating stress, burnout and disruptive changes in health care practice.

The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates the U.S. could face a shortage of up to 86,000 doctors by 2036, and according to a June 2023 survey by Merritt Hawkins for The Physicians Foundation, 28% of doctors who responded said they would like to retire within the next year – up from 21% in 2022.

“Our entire curriculum and our career counseling is all geared towards clinical careers, so we don't even have a track within the M.D. program for nonclinical-related careers,” Clinchot says. “We have several tracks (including a track) for research that's a clinician scientist, so you're doing both clinical work and research. We don't have a track for students that just all they want to do is nonclinical work.”

Clinchot says most students – even those who choose not to complete a three-year residency – don’t stop at earning their medical degree.

“Most will go on for at least one year," he says, "because the one year of additional training after your M.D. degree gives you an ability to get a license to practice medicine."

That extra year is worth it for most, Clinchot says, since they've already devoted several years to medical school.

Should You Become a Doctor?

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Driving Innovations in Biostatistics with Denise Scholtens, PhD

“I'm continually surprised by new data types. I think that we will see the emergence of a whole new kind of technology that we probably can't even envision five years from now…When I think about where the field has come over the past 20 years, it's just phenomenal.”  —  Denise Scholtens, PhD  

• Director, Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center (NUDACC)  
• Chief of Biostatistics in the Department of Preventive Medicine  
• Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Biostatistics and of Neurological Surgery  
• Member of Northwestern University Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute (NUCATS)  
• Member of the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center  

Episode Notes 

Since arriving at Feinberg in 2004, Scholtens has played a central role in the dramatic expansion of biostatistics at the medical school. Now the Director of NUDACC, Scholtens brings her expertise and leadership to large-scale, multicenter studies that can lead to clinical and public health practice decision-making.    

• After discovering her love of statistics as a high school math teacher, Scholtens studied bioinformatics in a PhD program before arriving at Feinberg in 2004.  
• Feinberg’s commitment to biostatistics has grown substantially in recent decades. Scholtens was only one of five biostatisticians when she arrived. Now she is part of a division with almost 50 people.  
• She says being a good biostatistician requires curiosity about other people’s work, knowing what questions to ask and tenacity to understand subtitles of so much data.   
• At NUDACC, Scholtens and her colleagues specialize in large-scale, multicenter prospective studies and clinical trials that lead to clinical or public health practice decision-making. They operate at the executive level and oversee all aspects of the study design.  
• Currently, Scholtens is involved with the launch of a large study, along with The Ohio State University, that received a $14 million grant to look at the effectiveness of aspirin in the prevention of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy.  
• Scholtens first started her work in data coordinating through the Hyperglycemia Adverse Pregnancy Outcome (HAPO) study, which looked at 25,000 pregnant individuals. This led to a continued interest in fetal and maternal health.   
• When it comes to supportive working environments, Scholtens celebrates the culture at Feinberg, and especially her division in biostatistics, for being collaborative as well as genuinely supportive of each other’s projects. She attributes this to strong leadership which established a culture with these guiding principles.   

Additional Reading  

• Read more about the ASPIRIN trial and other projects taking place at NUDACC   
• Discover a study linking mothers’ obesity-related genes to babies’ birth weight, which Scholtens worked in through the HAPO study   
• Browse all of Scholtens recent publications 

Recorded on February 21, 2024.

Continuing Medical Education Credit

Physicians who listen to this podcast may claim continuing medical education credit after listening to an episode of this program..

Target Audience

Academic/Research, Multiple specialties

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Identify the research interests and initiatives of Feinberg faculty.
• Discuss new updates in clinical and translational research.

Accreditation Statement

The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Credit Designation Statement

The Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine designates this Enduring Material for a maximum of 0.50  AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

American Board of Surgery Continuous Certification Program

Successful completion of this CME activity enables the learner to earn credit toward the CME requirement(s) of the American Board of Surgery’s Continuous Certification program. It is the CME activity provider's responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABS credit.

All the relevant financial relationships for these individuals have been mitigated.

Disclosure Statement

Denise Scholtens, PhD, has nothing to disclose.  Course director, Robert Rosa, MD, has nothing to disclose. Planning committee member, Erin Spain, has nothing to disclose.  FSM’s CME Leadership, Review Committee, and Staff have no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies to disclose.

Read the Full Transcript

[00:00:00] Erin Spain, MS: This is Breakthroughs, a podcast from Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. I'm Erin Spain, host of the show. Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is home to a team of premier faculty and staff biostatisticians, who are the driving force of data analytic innovation and excellence here. Today, we are talking with Dr. Denise Scholtens, a leader in biostatistics at Northwestern, about the growing importance of the field, and how she leverages her skills to collaborate on several projects in Maternal and Fetal Health. She is the Director of the Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center, NUDACC, and Chief of Biostatistics in the Department of Preventive Medicine, as well as Professor of Preventive Medicine and Neurological Surgery. Welcome to the show.  

[00:01:02] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Thank you so much.  

[00:01:02] Erin Spain, MS: So you have said in the past that you were drawn to this field of biostatistics because you're interested in both math and medicine, but not interested in becoming a clinician. Tell me about your path into the field and to Northwestern.  

[00:01:17] Denise Scholtens, PhD: You're right. I have always been interested in both math and medicine. I knew I did not want to be involved in clinical care. Originally, fresh out of college, I was a math major and I taught high school math for a couple of years. I really enjoyed that, loved the kids, loved the teaching parts of things. Interestingly enough, my department chair at the time assigned me to teach probability and statistics to high school seniors. I had never taken a statistics course before, so I was about a week ahead of them in our classes and found that I just really enjoyed the discipline. So as much as I loved teaching, I did decide to go ahead and invest in this particular new area that I had found and I really enjoyed. So I wanted to figure out how I could engage in the field of statistics. Decided to see, you know, exactly how studying statistics could be applied to medicine. At the time, Google was brand new. So I literally typed in the two words math and medicine to see what would come up. And the discipline of biostatistics is what Google generated. And so here I am, I applied to grad school and it's been a great fit for me.  

[00:02:23] Erin Spain, MS: Oh, that's fantastic. So you went on to get a PhD, and then you came to Northwestern in 2004. And so tell me a little bit about the field then and how it's changed so dramatically since.  

[00:02:36] Denise Scholtens, PhD: So yes, I started here at Northwestern in 2004, just a few months after I had defended my thesis. At the time there was really an emerging field of study called bioinformatics. So I wrote my thesis in the space of genomics data analysis with what at the time was a brand new technology, microarrays. This was the first way we could measure gene transcription at a high throughput level. So I did my thesis work in that space. I studied at an institution with a lot of strengths and very classical statistics. So things that we think of in biostatistics like clinical trial design, observational study analysis, things like that. So I had really classic biostatistics training and then complimented that with sort of these emerging methods with these high dimensional data types. So I came to Northwestern here and I sort of felt like I lived in two worlds. I had sort of classic biostat clinical trials, which were certainly, you know, happening here. And, that work was thriving here at Northwestern, but I had this kind of new skillset, and I just didn't quite know how to bring the two together. That was obviously a long time ago, 20 years ago. Now we think of personalized medicine and genomic indicators for treatment and, you know, there's a whole variety of omics data variations on the theme that are closely integrated with clinical and population level health research. So there's no longer any confusion for me about how those two things come together. You know, they're two disciplines that very nicely complement each other. But yeah, I think that does speak to how the field has changed, you know, these sort of classic biostatistics methods are really nicely blended with a lot of high dimensional data types. And it's been fun to be a part of that.  

[00:04:17] Erin Spain, MS: There were only a handful of folks like you at Northwestern at the time. Tell me about now and the demand for folks with your skill set.  

[00:04:26] Denise Scholtens, PhD: When I came to Northwestern, I was one of a very small handful of biostatistics faculty. There were five of us. We were not even called a division of biostatistics. We were just here as the Department of Preventive Medicine. And a lot of the work we did was really very tightly integrated with the epidemiologists here in our department and we still do a lot of that for sure. There was also some work going on with the Cancer Center here at Northwestern. But yeah, a pretty small group of us, who has sort of a selected set of collaborations. You know, I contrast that now to our current division of biostatistics where we are over 20s, pushing 25, depending on exactly how you want to count. Hoping to bring a couple of new faculty on board this calendar year. We have a staff of about 25 statistical analysts. And database managers and programmers. So you know, when I came there were five faculty members and I think two master's level staff. We are now pushing, you know, pushing 50 people in our division here so it's a really thriving group.  

[00:05:26] Erin Spain, MS: in your opinion, what makes a good biostatistician? Do you have to have a little bit of a tough skin to be in this field?  

Denise Scholtens, PhD: I do think it's a unique person who wants to be a biostatistician. There are a variety of traits that can lead to success in this space. First of all, I think it's helpful to be wildly curious about somebody else's work. To be an excellent collaborative biostatistician, you have to be able to learn the language of another discipline. So some other clinical specialty or public health application. Another trait that makes a biostatistician successful is to be able to ask the right questions about data that will be collected or already have been collected. So understanding the subtleties there, the study design components that lead to why we have the data that we have. You know, a lot of our data, you could think of it in a simple flat file, right? Like a Microsoft Excel file with rows and columns. That certainly happens a lot, but there are a lot of incredibly innovative data types out there: wearables technology, imaging data, all kinds of high dimensional data. So I think a tenacity to understand all of the subtleties of those data and to be able to ask the right questions. And then I think for a biostatistician at a medical school like ours, being able to blend those two things, so understanding what the data are and what you have to work with and what you're heading toward, but then also facilitating the translation of those analytic findings for the audience that really wants to understand them. So for the clinicians, for the patients, for participants and the population that the findings would apply to.   

Erin Spain, MS: It must feel good, though, in those situations where you are able to help uncover something to improve a study or a trial.  

[00:07:07] Denise Scholtens, PhD: It really does. This is a job that's easy to get out of bed for in the morning. There's a lot of really good things that happen here. It's exciting to know that the work we do could impact clinical practice, could impact public health practice. I think in any job, you know, you can sometimes get bogged down by the amount of work or the difficulty of the work or the back and forth with team members. There's just sort of all of the day to day grind, but to be able to take a step back and remember the actual people who are affected by our own little niche in this world. It's an incredibly helpful and motivating practice that I often keep to remember exactly why I'm doing what I'm doing and who I'm doing it for.  

[00:07:50] Erin Spain, MS: Well, and another important part of your work is that you are a leader. You are leading the center, NUDACC, that you mentioned, Northwestern University Data Analysis and Coordinating Center. Now, this has been open for about five years. Tell me about the center and why it's so crucial to the future of the field.  

[00:08:08] Denise Scholtens, PhD: We specialize at NUDACC in large scale, multicenter prospective studies. So these are the clinical trials or the observational studies that often, most conclusively, lead to clinical or public health practice decision making. We focus specifically on multicenter work. Because it requires a lot of central coordination and we've specifically built up our NUDACC capacity to handle these multi center investigations where we have a centralized database, we have centralized and streamlined data quality assurance pipelines. We can help with central team leadership and organization for large scale networks. So we have specifically focused on those areas. There's a whole lot of project management and regulatory expertise that we have to complement our data analytics strengths as well. I think my favorite part of participating in these studies is we get involved at the very beginning. We are involved in executive level planning of these studies. We oversee all components of study design. We are intimately involved in the development of the data capture systems. And in the QA of it. We do all of this work on the front end so that we get all of the fun at the end with the statistics and can analyze data that we know are scientifically sound, are well collected, and can lead to, you know, really helpful scientific conclusions.  

[00:09:33] Erin Spain, MS: Tell me about that synergy between the clinicians and the other investigators that you're working with on these projects.  

[00:09:41] Denise Scholtens, PhD: It is always exciting, often entertaining. Huge range of scientific opinion and expertise and points of view, all of which are very valid and very well informed. All of the discussion that could go into designing and launching a study, it's just phenomenally interesting and trying to navigate all of that and help bring teams to consensus in terms of what is scientifically most relevant, what's going to be most impactful, what is possible given the logistical strengths. Taking all of these well informed, valid, scientific points of view and being a part of the team that helps integrate them all toward a cohesive study design and a well executed study. That's a unique part of the challenge that we face here at NUDACC, but an incredibly rewarding one. It's also such an honor and a gift to be able to work with such a uniformly gifted set of individuals. Just the clinical researchers who devote themselves to these kinds of studies are incredibly generous, incredibly thoughtful and have such care for their patients and the individuals that they serve, that to be able to sit with them and think about the next steps for a great study is a really unique privilege.  

[00:10:51] Erin Spain, MS: How unique is a center like this at a medical school?  

[00:10:55] Denise Scholtens, PhD: It's fairly unique to have a center like this at a medical school. Most of the premier medical research institutions do have some level of data coordinating center capacity. We're certainly working toward trying to be one of the nation's best, absolutely, and build up our capacity for doing so. I'm actually currently a part of a group of data coordinating centers where it's sort of a grassroots effort right now to organize ourselves and come up with, you know, some unified statements around the gaps that we see in our work, the challenges that we face strategizing together to improve our own work and to potentially contribute to each other's work. I think maybe the early beginnings of a new professional organization for data coordinating centers. We have a meeting coming up of about, I think it's 12 to 15 different institutions, academic research institutions, specifically medical schools that have centers like ours to try to talk through our common pain points and also celebrate our common victories.  

[00:11:51] Erin Spain, MS: I want to shift gears a little bit to talk about some of your research collaborations, many of which focus on maternal and fetal health and pregnancy. You're now involved with a study with folks at the Ohio State University that received a 14 million grant looking at the effectiveness of aspirin in the prevention of hypertensive disorders in pregnancy. Tell me about this work.  

[00:12:14] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Yes, this is called the aspirin study. I suppose not a very creative name, but a very appropriate one. What we'll be doing in this study is looking at two different doses of aspirin for trying to prevent maternal hypertensive disorders of pregnancy in women who are considered at high risk for these disorders. This is a huge study. Our goal is to enroll 10,742 participants. This will take place at 11 different centers across the nation. And yes, we at NUDACC will serve as the data coordinating center here, and we are partnering with the Ohio State University who will house the clinical coordinating center. So this study is designed to look at two different doses to see which is more effective at preventing hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. So that would include gestational hypertension and preeclampsia. What's really unique about this study and the reason that it is so large is that it is specifically funded to look at what's called a heterogeneity of treatment effect. What that is is a difference in the effectiveness of aspirin in preventing maternal hypertensive disorders, according to different subgroups of women. We'll specifically have sufficient statistical power to test for differences in treatment effectiveness. And we have some high priority subgroups that we'll be looking at. One is a self-identified race. There's been a noted disparity in maternal hypertensive disorders, for individuals who self identify according to different races. And so we will be powered to see if aspirin has comparable effectiveness and hopefully even better effectiveness for the groups who really need it, to bring those rates closer to equity which is, you know, certainly something we would very strongly desire to see. We'll also be able to look at subgroups of women according to obesity, according to maternal age at pregnancy, according to the start time of aspirin when aspirin use is initiated during pregnancy. So that's why the trial is so huge. For a statistician, the statisticians out there who might be listening, this is powered on a statistical interaction term, which doesn't happen very often. So it's exciting that the trial is funded in that way.  

[00:14:27] Erin Spain, MS: Tell me a little bit more about this and how your specific skills are going to be utilized in this study.  

[00:14:32] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Well, there are three biostatistics faculty here at Northwestern involved in this. So we're definitely dividing and conquering. Right now, we're planning this study and starting to stand it up. So we're developing our statistical analysis plans. We're developing the database. We are developing our randomization modules. So this is the piece of the study where participants are randomized to which dose of aspirin they're going to receive. Because of all of the subgroups that we're planning to study, we need to make especially sure that the assignments of which dose of aspirin are balanced within and across all of those subgroups. So we're going to be using some adaptive randomization techniques to ensure that that balance is there. So there's some fun statistical and computer programming innovation that will be applied to accomplish those things. So right now, there are usually two phases of a study that are really busy for us. That's starting to study up and that's where we are. And so yes, it is very busy for us right now. And then at the end, you know, in five years or so, once recruitment is over, then we analyze all the data,  

[00:15:36] Erin Spain, MS: Are there any guidelines out there right now about the use of aspirin in pregnancy. What do you hope that this could accomplish?  

 Prescribing aspirin use for the prevention of hypertension during pregnancy is not uncommon at all. That is actually fairly routinely done, but that it's not outcomes based in terms of which dosage is most effective. So 81 milligrams versus 162 milligrams. That's what we will be evaluating. And my understanding is that clinicians prescribe whatever they think is better, and I'm sure those opinions are very well informed but there is very little outcome based evidence for this in this particular population that we'll be studying. So that would be the goal here, would be to hopefully very conclusively say, depending on the rates of the hypertensive disorders that we see in our study, which of the two doses of aspirin is more effective. Importantly, we will also be tracking any side effects of taking aspirin. And so that's also very much often a part of the evaluation of You know, taking a, taking a drug, right, is how safe is it? So we'll be tracking that very closely as well. Another unique part of this study is that we will be looking at factors that help explain aspirin adherence. So we are going to recommend that participants take their dose of aspirin daily. We don't necessarily expect that's always going to happen, so we are going to measure how much of their prescribed dose they are actually taking and then look at, you know, factors that contribute to that. So be they, you know, social determinants of health or a variety of other things that we'll investigate to try to understand aspirin adherence, and then also model the way in which that adherence could have affected outcomes.  

Erin Spain, MS: This is not the first study that you've worked on involving maternal and fetal health. Tell me about your interest in this particular area, this particular field, and some of the other work that you've done.  

[00:17:31] Denise Scholtens, PhD: So I actually first got my start in data coordinating work through the HAPO study. HAPO stands for Hyperglycemia Adverse Pregnancy Outcome. That study was started here at Northwestern before I arrived. Actually recruitment to the study occurred between 2000 and 2006. Northwestern served as the central coordinating center for that study. It was an international study of 25,000 pregnant individuals who were recruited and then outcomes were evaluated both in moms and newborns. When I was about mid career here, all the babies that were born as a part of HAPO were early teenagers. And so we conducted a follow up study on the HAPO cohort. So that's really when I got involved. It was my first introduction to being a part of a coordinating center. As I got into it, though, I saw the beauty of digging into all of these details for a huge study like this and then saw these incredible resources that were accumulated through the conduct of such a large study. So the data from the study itself is, was of course, a huge resource. But then also we have all of these different samples that sit in a biorepository, right? So like usually blood sample collection is a big part of a study like this. So all these really fun ancillary studies could spin off of the HAPO study. So we did some genomics work. We did some metabolomics work. We've integrated the two and what's called integrated omics. So, you know, my work in this space really started in the HAPO study. And I have tremendously enjoyed integrating these high dimensional data types that have come from these really rich data resources that have all, you know, resulted because of this huge multicenter longitudinal study. So I kind of accidentally fell into the space of maternal and fetal health, to be honest. But I just became phenomenally interested in it and it's been a great place.  

[00:19:24] Erin Spain, MS: Would you say that this is also a population that hasn't always been studied very much in biomedical science?  

[00:19:32] Denise Scholtens, PhD: I think that that is true, for sure. There are some unique vulnerabilities, right, for a pregnant individual and for the fetus, right, and in that situation. You know, the vast majority of what we do is really only pertaining to the pregnant participant but, you know, there are certainly fetal outcomes, newborn outcomes. And so, I think conducting research in this particular population is a unique opportunity and there are components of it that need to be treated with special care given sort of this unique phase of human development and this unique phase of life.  

[00:20:03] Erin Spain, MS: So, as data generation just really continues to explode, and technology is advancing so fast, faster than ever, where do you see this field evolving, the field of biostatistics, where do you see it going in the next five to ten years?  

[00:20:19] Denise Scholtens, PhD: That's a great question. I think all I can really tell you is that I'm continually surprised by new data types. I think that we will see an emergence of a whole new kind of technology that we probably can't even envision five years from now. And I think that the fun part about being a biostatistician is seeing what's happening and then trying to wrap your mind around the possibilities and the actual nature of the data that are collected. You know, I think back to 2004 and this whole high throughput space just felt so big. You know, we could look at gene transcription across the genome using one technology. And we could only look at one dimension of it. Right now it just seems so basic. When I think about where the field has come over the past 20 years, it's just phenomenal. I think we're seeing a similar emergence of the scale and the type of data in the imaging space and in the wearable space, with EHR data, just. You know, all these different technologies for capturing, capturing things that we just never even conceived of before. I do hope that we continue to emphasize making meaningful and translatable conclusions from these data. So actionable conclusions that can impact the way that we care for others around us. I do hope that remains a guiding principle in all that we do.  

[00:21:39] Erin Spain, MS: Why is Northwestern Medicine and Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine such a supportive environment to pursue this type of work?  

[00:21:47] Denise Scholtens, PhD: That's a wonderful question and one, honestly, that faculty candidates often ask me. When we bring faculty candidates in to visit here at Northwestern, they immediately pick up on the fact that we are a collaborative group of individuals who are for each other. Who want to see each other succeed, who are happy to share the things that we know and support each other's work, and support each other's research, and help strategize around the things that we want to accomplish. There is a strong culture here, at least in my department and in my division that I've really loved that continues to persist around really genuinely collaborating and genuinely sharing lessons learned and genuinely supporting each other as we move toward common goals. We've had some really strong, generous leadership who has helped us to get there and has helped create a culture where those are the guiding principles. In my leadership role is certainly something that I strive to maintain. Really hope that's true. I'm sure I don't do it perfectly but that's absolutely something I want to see accomplished here in the division and in NUDACC for sure.  

[00:22:50] Erin Spain, MS: Well, thank you so much for coming on the show and telling us about your path here to Northwestern and all of the exciting work that we can look forward to in the coming years.  

[00:22:59] Denise Scholtens, PhD: Thank you so much for having me. I've really enjoyed this.  

[00:23:01] Erin Spain, MS: You can listen to shows from the Northwestern Medicine Podcast Network to hear more about the latest developments in medical research, health care, and medical education. Leaders from across specialties speak to topics ranging from basic science to global health to simulation education. Learn more at feinberg. northwestern.edu/podcasts.