Ph.D. Program in Molecular Medicine receives $850,000 grant from Howard Hughes Medical Institute

A new Ph.D. Program in Molecular Medicine has been created by a collaborative effort between the Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute (LRI), the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University (CCLCM) and the Case Western Reserve University (Case) School of Medicine. This progam has received $850,000 for the next four years from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) "Med into Grad Initiative" to integrate medical knowledge into graduate education. The grant is one of 13 Med into Grad Initiative grants totaling $10 million announced by HHMI on Feb. 15 in an effort to shorten the time it takes to translate basic science discoveries into new medical treatments.

"We, like many others, are concerned by how difficult it is becoming for scientists to harness the explosion of new biomedical research information and translate it into medical practice," said Thomas R. Cech, HHMI president. "At a time when science and medicine must work hand in hand to solve problems of human health and disease, we want to help change graduate education to increase the pool of scientists who are doing medically oriented research."A panel of graduate educators, biomedical researchers and physician-scientists helped select the awardees. HHMI received applications from 82 institutions. The institutions receiving this award are Baylor College of Medicine, LRI/CCLCM/Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Harvard University, MIT, Rice University, Stanford University, University of Alabama, Birmingham; University of Calif., Davis; University of California, San Diego, School of Medicine; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University of Pennsylvania; University of Washington; and Yale University.

The Ph.D. Program in Molecular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic and Case, recently featured in the HHMI Bulletin, will include an integrated core curriculum, a clinical mentor program and a specially designed course in principles of clinical research. Martha K. Cathcart, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Medicine at CCLCM and Faculty in the Cell Biology Department of the Lerner Research Institute, will lead the new Ph.D. Program as Program Director. Roy Silverstein, M.D., Professor of Molecular Medicine at CCLCM and Chair of the LRI's Department of Cell Biology and John Lowe, M.D., Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Pathology at the Case School of Medicine will be Co-directors of the Ph.D. Program in Molecular Medicine. Paul DiCorleto, Ph.D., Chair of the Lerner Research Institute is Chair and Professor of Molecular Medicine at CCLCM.

Students will study the basic life sciences in the context of human biology and disease. "This Ph.D. program is designed to integrate medical knowledge into graduate training so that students graduating from this program will be better prepared to conduct translational research and facilitate application of research findings to clinical situations," Cathcart said. "This grant will support the development of our novel curriculum and administration of the program as well as recruitment efforts." "The first students are expected to enroll in July 2007", she added.