The MSTP at Maryland recently joined the Graduate Partnership Program (GPP) at the NIH, a program that links the NIH with many other institutions in the USA, as well as Oxford, Cambridge, and the Karolinska Institute, among others. As a member of the Partnership, MSTP students are able to do their PhD at these institutions. Some of the institutions and programs, such as the universities abroad, require a separate application process, which must be completed by certain deadlines or when entering the MSTP orig-inally. To simply do your work at a lab at one of the NIH campuses, one can forge what is called an individual partnership, which requires a co-mentor here at UMB and a memo-randum of understanding to be drafted between our MSTP and the NIH.

Carolyn rosinsky, Gs i

Dual Decree Baltimore � Volume VI � Issue 2 � Spring 2015

the university of marylanD meDical scientist training program’s

navigating off-campus nih partnership programs

MATCH DAY 2015: At Baltimore’s Hippodrome Theater on march 20, Nicolas Dorsey, ms iv (left) receives her match envelope with a hug from Associate Dean Donna Parker.; Jess Shiu, ms iv (right) reveals her residency match on stage. match results: nicolas dorsey - anesthesiology at university of maryland, baltimore; jess shiu - dermatology at university of california, irvine.

On January 26th, President Jay Perman, M.D., announced a cut to the University

School of Medicine budget for the fiscal year of 2015. The budget is expected to decline by 3% ($6.9 million). The University will fully compensate for the new budget by instituting a hiring freeze and decreasing funding for deferred maintenance; there will be no need for a furlough or increased tuition expenses in FY 2015. In anticipation of Governor Hogan’s proposed 2016 budget, the University is attempting to plan ahead for future austerity measures.

Although the entire University of Maryland system is experiencing budget cuts, the Graduate Program in Life Sciences at UMB has re-evaluated the graduate student cost of living in Baltimore to accommodate higher expenses in 2015. MD/PhD students can expect a raise of $2,000 for their yearly stipend effective July 1, 2015. For pre-qualifying exam trainees, the stipend increases from $26,000 to $28,000. For post-qualifying exam trainees, the stipend increases from $27,000 to $29,000.

The University’s continued investment in graduate students is reassuring for the student body in the face of state fiscal woes. In a statement on January 6th, Assistant Dean for Graduate and Post-doctoral Studies Dudley Strickland, Ph.D., wrote “the School of Medicine and the Graduate Program in Life Sciences recognize and value the important contributions that our student-researchers make to the School’s research enterprise.”

sarah aronson, ms i JaCkline lasola, ms i

Stipend Increases for MD/PhD and GPILS Graduate Students Despite State Budget Woes

away rotations: research & clinical

medics on ethics: patient dismissalf30 updatesbest of baltimore

(continued on page 3)

it’s a match!

INSIDE DD

Dual Decreethe university of marylanD meDical scientist training program

Baltimore � Volume VI � Issue 2 � Spring 2015

editor-in-Chief:Kristi Chakrabarti

manaGinG editor:Elise Ma

Copy editor:Carolyn Rosinsky

editor of photoGraphy:Alexander Tsai

ContributinG editors:Sarah Aranson

Sai Sachin DivakaruniJeffrey Kleinberger

Jackline LasolaJesse Stokum

contact us: dualdecree@gmail.comThe views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Maryland School of Medicine or any affiliated institution.

Spring 20152 the Dual Decree

Save the D a t e ( s ) ! ! ! Celebrating 30 years of MD/PhD training at UMB.

Our program has much to celebrate in 2015!`

The five-year renewal of the T32 grant supporting our

Medical Scientist Training Program was reviewed favorably by study section, and our request to increase the number of funded students from four to eight each year was approved. It is most likely that, due to prevailing fiscal realities, we will eventually be awarded six slots per year. Nevertheless, receipt of another five years of MSTP funding (2015-2020) is cause for celebration.

This year also marks the 30th anniversary of MD/PhD training at UMB. In honor of this milestone, we are planning several celebratory events throughout the year. Mark your calendars!

Of course, we will invite alumni to come back for our annual MSTP retreat in August as we do each year.

Next, we are planning a cocktail reception at Wit & Wisdom on Saturday May 2, 2015, prior to the annual School of Medicine gala. All of our 100 alumni will be invited, and we hope that those who choose to attend the 140th SOM alumni reunion events will join us.

For the grand finale, we are working with the Office of Development to plan an MSTP Special Event and Symposium on October 9-10, 2015. The specifics are still “under development” but we have invited our first graduate, Dr. James P. Nataro, to be our keynote speaker for the symposium. The nature of the Special Event is still to be determined (reception, dinner cruise, sports event, crab feast…..), and we welcome your input!

We would like as many of our 100 alumni (soon to be 102) as possible to attend the event, along with former directors and administrators, AND our current students. Please save the dates, and get the word out. We will need your help.

aChsah keeGan, phdmstp assoCiate

direCtor

DIRECTOR’S DECREE dates & reminders

watch your e-mails!from: jbacon@som.umary-land.edu

F30 UPDATESAll NIH institutes are now required to offer F30 awards. However, each institute has different requirements,

and therefore every applicant is highly encouraged to look at the institute-specific instructions and information found here: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/contacts/parent_F30.html

An “Additional Educational Information” document is now required which should be attached under Other Attachments. This document should be written by the program director and contain information about the

dual-degree program as well specific information about the applicant. NOT-OD-14-133

Award duration must be at least 50% graduate research training. After an award is made, the duration can be readjusted to ensure that at least 50% of the total duration is devoted to research.

The primary sponsor must have a valid eRA Commons Username. An eRA Commons ID for the co-sponsor remains optional.

Following an unsuccessful resubmission (A1), applicants are now allowed to submit the same idea as a new application (A0) for the next cycle.

An applicant must have matriculated into a dual-degree program no more than 48 months prior to the due date of the initial application.

Spring 2015 3mdphd.umaryland.edu

I did a summer rotation at the NIH after my second year of medical school. Although I ultimately decided not to stay at the lab at the NIH and join the GPP, I was the first in our program to travel this route, and I am sharing some of my newfound wisdom about navigating the program.

Finding a MentorThe way I found my mentor was the same way I found potential PIs here at UMB-

-I went to the websites of the departments I was interested in, clicked on every name, made a list of the people whose pages interested me, and then emailed every single one! The GPP directors could probably help you find someone, but I actually did not think they were very helpful in that respect when I contacted them about their opinion of my choices of my potential mentors. They discouraged me from deciding on poten-tial mentors based on if the PI had had previous graduate students, because the GPP said they can provide support to any mentor, regardless of whether they had trained students previously. I met with several PIs at NIH before deciding which lab I wanted to go to for the summer.

Getting your badge and parking/mass transit allowance:My PI’s administrative officer (AO) helped me to get my badge and parking

pass. You can either get free parking or you can get subsidized train fares (possibly also bus fares). I chose to drive to Bethesda, but you can also take the train or drive to a northern suburb of DC (e.g. Columbia) and take a commuter bus. If you travel off of rush hour, driving is much faster, but if you are locked into a 9am-5pm day, mass transit will be much faster and easier. The NIH will either give you a free parking pass or else a mass transit allowance that will probably cover about two-thirds of the cost. You could also of course choose to live closer to the NIH for the duration of the rotation.

Your PI’s AO will get the necessary legwork done so that you can be approved for a badge and parking and have those ready for you to pick up on your first day, hopefully without having to get fingerprinted or background checked.

Getting paid:The NIH pay scale is above our pay. It depends how many years post-grad you

are at the time of working there, because the scale is graduated up to five years post-grad. However, it is all above the amount we get paid at UMB. That means that it is actually illegal to be hired there with our pay. It seemed extremely complicated and unnecessary to try to come up with the difference for just 10 weeks, especially since you do not know if you will be staying there until after you are done the rotation. To cir-cumvent the problem, I got my badge and worked at the NIH under volunteer status, rather than as a student or employee, so that I would be exempt from having to come up with extra pay. Therefore, you will be fully covered by our MSTP for your rotation (something that PIs will want to know), as long as you make sure the AO processes you as a volunteer for the summer.

If you decide to stay and join an NIH lab through the GPP: If you do decide to stay, it is required that you have a co-mentor here at UMB. As

with any co-mentor, it is up to you how much you want to have them involved--they can be anywhere on the spectrum from a full collaborator to someone you only meet with a couple times a year to check boxes and sign forms.

You will also have to draft a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between our program and the NIH. This will involve our MSTP leadership, your PI at NIH, your co-mentor at UMB, and the GPP leadership.

The pay will probably not be an issue if you decide to stay at NIH. After your first year of grad school, you’ll be covered by your mentor, so they will pay you according to the NIH pay scale (about $5000 more than we get paid here, depending on if you came straight here from undergrad). The grad school/MSTP will pay you our stipend

I first heard about the Bioengineering program at the University of Maryland, College Park during my MSTP interview and thought it sounded very interesting. When I was invited back for a second visit, I was told I could also go down to College Park and meet with labs. I looked through the different labs online and submitted the names of a few whose work I was interested in. During my second visit, I was able to meet with four different labs, one of which was Dr. Fisher’s Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials Laboratory, where I decided to do my first lab rotation. Dr. Fisher’s lab was composed of four graduate students, two undergraduate students, and one post-doc. I spent most of my time working with one particular graduate student, as the rotation project I was doing was most closely related to her thesis work. The lab had also begun a collaboration with Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., which has an institute devoted to surgical innovation to improve patient care.

I found working at the College Park campus to be very easy. The majority of the labs are located in the Kim Engineering building, which is very close to the main campus entrance off Route 1. I was very quickly given a parking pass for a lot located about a minute walk from the building and never had any issues with parking. In addition, the post-doc actually lived in Baltimore and would take the train to and from work each day with minimal complaints, although it is obviously still farther than working in Baltimore.

The facilities at the Kim Engineering building were great. All the labs were very collaborative and open to sharing equipment. It felt like people were talking about how they got approved to purchase some new machine almost every day. I also noticed that everyone in the lab, including the undergraduate students, were encouraged to attend conferences. However, while people did attend each other’s smaller talks, I did not hear of any classes or workshops being offered, which may be due to the fact that I worked there over the summer.

miChael lee, ms i

MS I’s Bioengineering Lab Rotation at College Park

(continued from page 1)NAVIGATING NIH PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS

(continued on page 5)

“AN AWAY ROTATION CAN BE A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD.”

A Guide to Away RotationsSpring 20154 the Dual Decree

Before you even consider where you want to go:

Make sure your shots are up to date - each school on VSAS has an immunization/health form that they would like you to complete, usually requiring:

(1) Titers for lots of vaccinations to show that you are immune (ALWAYS)

(2) Up-to-date TB testing (ALWAYS)

(3) Occasional drug test

(4) Occasional annual physical

** I would recommend getting this blood work done around January. Not too early, as there is a limit on how far you can go back.

I ran into trouble because I started getting my blood work done in late February and found out that I did not have a titer to Hep B, despite multiple shots in the past. I restarted the booster series but couldn’t test for a titer until late March, which put me at a significant disadvantage for competitive spots.

Choosing a Rotation: Most people choose based on location

- California, Boston, New York… those places fill up quickly so you better be ready to submit your full application the minute a school opens their VSAS door.

I urge that you consider what rotation will best allow you to shine and actually putting that ahead of location. BE D E L I B E R A T E & STRATEGIC. Things to think about: Will you be working with one attending or multiple attendings? Look back on your 3rd year and identify situations that you have thrived in, and then try to find similar opportunities. If you are someone who takes a while to warm up, for example, a month rotation at an outpatient clinic where the attendings change daily may not be a good fit for you. Try to identify a key person who you want to work with, and don’t be shy about emailing them. Also inquire about research

opportunities that will allow you to shine as an MD/PhD student, as that will definitely set you apart from other students.

Don’t forget that an away rotation can be a double-edged sword. If you want to end up in California, it will definitely help to show people that you are willing to move across the country. However, if they do not like you, you are also automatically off their list. It is difficult to be on your A-game for a month. You have to be enthusiastic and take initiative all the time. In a new environment, that is sometimes a challenge and there are always personality clashes. Pick carefully.

More away rotations is not always beneficial. Same as above but also, you don’t want to come across as someone who is doing as many away rotations as you can simply to maximize your match possibility. It is better to be focused so that you can shape your personal statement accordingly.

Logistics: 3/12/14 - VSAS token received - sign up and

pick schools that you are interested in and sign up to get email notifications from them

There are still schools that don’t use VSAS and require a completely separate

application - Hopkins being one of them.

March to May - schools start opening their VSAS doors. Each school has a different date; it is all very confusing. Every school has a different deadline, but just because the deadline is May 1st doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t submit as early as the door

for that school opens. Most aways are given on a first-come-first-served basis.

Late April to May - you will start hearing from programs about whether you got an away rotation or not. You usually have one week to accept or decline an offer, which makes it challenging, because you often don’t

hear from other programs you applied to within that time frame. It is hard to make a decision because it will definitely look poorly on you if you accept a position and then change your mind after you hear from another program. So you just have to go with the flow and cross your fingers.

Cost: Supposedly I think it is $15 dollars per VSAS program up to a certain point. However, there are many hidden costs like paying $60 to get your criminal background check in some random states. Some schools will send you additional paperwork and you often have to pay for some items. I ended up spending around $300-$400 on just applications alone.

The Away Rotation:WORK SUPER HARD. As hard

as you can. Be the most positive

(continued on page 5)

Planning an away rotation is stressful - there is a lot of paperwork and no time to get it done. In addition, the cost adds up pretty quickly at a time when you are also signing up for Step2 CS and Step2 CK as an MS3, so it’s good to plan ahead.

Browse through VSAS and the different school websites. VSAS is confusing, so it is best to familiarize yourself early.

A couple of programs also ask for a letter of recommendation from your Department specifically to state that you are in good standing and have a strong interest in that specialty.

Have fun!! It’s a nice opportunity to meet other people and see how other institutions function after being stuck at UMMC for years. Also try to embrace the city you are in even if it’s not your first choice.

“CONSIDER WHAT ROTATION WILL BEST ALLOW YOU TO SHINE.”

JessiCa shiu, ms iv

ALUMNI UPDATE joshua lieberman, md, phd

Yesterday I was called to the OR so the ENT surgeon could orient me to a series of frozen sections and the main cancer resection. I arrived to find a 52-year-old veteran on the operating table with his neck flayed open and tongue completely removed. The surgeon and I spent several minutes identifying landmarks, the neoplastic mass, and the most critical margins to evaluate in our frozen sections. I returned to the pathology laboratory with eight frozen sections (plus the main mass, for analysis after fixation, or “permanent”). I spent the next 83 minutes (we log the time) cranking through this incredible number of frozen sections to evaluate for any missed sections of invasive neoplasia. I reported my findings to the surgeon, who confirmed we had looked at the surface she cut (the true margin) and not just the mucosa. She was pleased to hear the margins were negative for carcinoma.

Life as a pathology resident is relatively comfortable. My first two years are devoted to understanding tissue - architecture, normal resident and neoplastic cell lines, inflammatory processes – and putting that understanding together with clinicians for diagnoses and with gross anatomy to pull together a complete story of how a patient died for a grieving family. I do

not miss direct patient contact, probably because I am deeply satisfied by a behind-the-scenes role that can radically impact treatment choices in real time.

I chose a pathology residency so I could do the Laboratory Medicine (aka, clinical pathology) portion. These two years will be devoted to understanding how to run a clinical lab and manage the multitude of tests that go through the microbiology, chemistry/toxicology, genetics, etc., labs, and the blood bank. These two years will provide more time for research, and I have already begun planning major research projects that I can begin in this period.

For the time being, I am establishing connections with labs that need a pathologist to read slides and are doing work that informs my future research. I have time for at most two simple, time-limited projects that support my learning as an anatomic pathologist. My hope is to build my research on a mixed skill set, drawing from toolkits belonging to the anatomic pathologist, clinical microbiologist, and clinical chemist. It is sometimes hard to “delay” one’s growth a scientist, but in my AP/CP residency I actually see the connections between researches I am planning in the coming months-to-years and the skill set I’m cultivating now. This is a deeply gratifying and truly novel experience in my clinical training.

Joshua is an alumnus of the UMSOM MSTP. He received his PhD in Molecular Microbiology & Immunology in December 2011 and his MD in December 2013. He is currently a first year resident in Pathology & Laboratory Medicine (AP/CP) at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he lives, hikes, and sails with his partner, Nicole Perry, and cat, Prince.

Notes from the field: PGY-1

Spring 2015 5mdphd.umaryland.edu

for the first year, but that will leave a gap of about $5000, depending on how many years post-grad you have. The mentor/GPP/grad school will make up the difference, but there will be some logistical hoops to jump through for the first student who takes this route.

As for your education through the GPP, you will still be required to take the courses through GPILS here at UMB. You can also take classes at the NIH, and the GPP will also facilitate continuing your clinical education while there, such as participation in clinical grand rounds (see contact Matt Vogt, below).

Working with the GPP: It is best to keep the GPP in the loop even though you will not be joining the GPP officially (because of the pay scale dis-crepancy) unless you choose to actually stay in the lab for your PhD. But it is nice to keep them up to speed with what you are doing. The contacts there are Rick Fairhurst, the GPP Director [RFairhurst@niaid.nih.gov], and Matt Vogt, their Director of Student Affairs [vogtm@niaid.nih.gov]. They may point you to Phil Wang who is the Deputy Director of the GPP [philip.wang3@nih.gov].

If you have any further questions or would like to hear about my actual experiences while working at the NIH, please feel free to contact me!

(continued from page 4)AWAY ROTATIONS

(continued from page 3)NAVIGATING NIH PARTNERSHIP PROGRAMS

Websites:

https://rotatingroom.com

http://www.beds4meds.com

person that you can be. You want to be able to get a letter of recommendation for residency applications as well as shine in that program to have a chance of matching there.

Finding housing can be tricky. There is a rotating med student website where you can supposedly find housing, but the dates didn’t match up for me when I went down to MD Anderson. I ended up having to pay big bucks to stay in a safe and commuter-friendly neighborhood. I was in Houston and did not have a car during the month of September, which still runs in the 90s and I was drenched in sweat daily from biking/walking.

I’ve met students who end up renting cars for a month. I chose not to do that and saved almost $1000, but I was drenched in sweat daily and had limited access to things I would have liked to check out. I did sign up for zipcar on the weekends.

the Dual Decree � Spring 2015 � mdphd.umaryland.edu6

Since the age of seven, Allison can’t seem to get enough aquatics. She was a swimmer all through high school, and she was on a club swim team at University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). She also enjoys spending her summers teaching swimming to youths in Montgomery County. As an instructor, she enjoys watching her athletes progress over the summer. Although she says that her biggest draw to the UMD MSTP is the strong research and cordial environment, the “infinity” pool at the student center probably didn’t hurt.

While at UMCP, Allison was heavily involved in research. She is a biology major with a minor in neuroscience. Although there were a number of different research opportunities in undergrad, she selected an olfactory neurobiology lab. She had been interested in science from early on in her childhood, and she fell in love with research from her very first time working in a laboratory.

Allison has always had an interest in medicine. Her father is a cardiologist, and her mother is a nurse, so she has grown up in a healthcare family. However, she didn’t consider merging research and medicine until some of her older family members were diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. By seeing the effects that diseases, especially neurological diseases, have on the patient, Allison realized it was important for her to be involved in patient care and research. We are especially glad she chose this career path.

Albert is a student that has seen what hard work can accomplish. His father grew up working on a rice farm in China before immigrating to the U.S. at the age of 26. From there, his father worked tirelessly to climb through the academic ranks to attain a PhD in chemistry from Vanderbilt University. His father finally settled into a position as a career scientist at the FDA. Witnessing his father’s grit and work ethic, Albert was inspired to apply the same effort in his academic studies. He has done just that, beginning with his work at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and

continuing here at the Maryland MSTP.As a member of the Meyerhoff Scholarship program at UMBC, Albert has been able to take

advantage of opportunities that few undergrads are given. His research interests are varied, and he has worked in laboratories studying topics ranging from breast cancer to prions. His current science interests include genetics and genomics, but he is considering other fields as well. One thing is certain; Albert is greatly looking forward to incorporating patient care with his scientific interests to fulfill his aspirations as a physician scientist.

Albert likes to relax nowadays by playing sports. He has become a staple at the basketball courts of the SMC Student Center. When not shooting hoops or studying, he likes to relax with some videogames or Netflix. With all the effort that Albert puts into his research and academics, he certainly earns his downtime, and he will be an excellent physician-scientist as a result of his hard work.

Sarah has come to join the University of Maryland from her home state of Connecticut. Not only did she grow up there, but she also attended the University of Connecticut for her undergraduate training. While there, Sarah took part in a BS/MD program that gave her exposure to the clinical field as well as translational research. Sarah is also proud to a member of the student body at UConn in 2014, the year that both the men’s and women’s college basketball teams won the NCAA National Championships.

Since high school, Sarah has known that she wanted to be a physician scientist. At that time, a family member suffered a stroke, and she was able to see first-hand the effects that knowledgeable and compassionate physicians can provide. When she began college, she wanted to learn more about the pathophysiology that underlie strokes. She joined a laboratory that focused on this topic, and she spent all four years doing research there. Sarah loves the idea of using problem-solving in both the fields of medicine and research.

Sarah likes to take part in a diverse set of hobbies in her free time. She enjoys traveling, as shown by her semester abroad in Florence, Italy. In Italy, Sarah studied art history, which was her minor in undergrad. Sarah likes to express her creative side through piano or short story writing. To relieve stress, she likes to go running, knit quietly, or try some delicious wine. We are lucky to have Sarah in our program!

Michael grew up in Bethesda, MD and after, a short stint in the heartland of America, he has returned to Maryland. Michael was a talented high school athlete, making the varsity squad for basketball, baseball and football. During his time in high-school, he was also able to get involved in research at the NHLBI. This experience was the spark of his research career.

After high school, Michael attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied biology and applied mathematics. He

first became interested in the dual degree when he did a senior research project in the molecular biology lab of an MD/PhD who persuaded Michael to pursue the physician-scientist career option. Before applying to MD/PhD programs, Michael did research at the Children’s National Medical Center where he studied sinus samples from pediatric patients with upper respiratory disease. So far, Michael has really taken advantage of the wide range of research opportunities in the state of Maryland, and he plans to continue by pursuing the bioengineering opportunities at University of Maryland, College Park, as he did this summer.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys a range of hobbies. He plays all types of sports, he can juggle, and he even likes stretching his mind by reading about theoretical physics. He enjoys traveling abroad, and he has been to locations in Europe, Central America, and Asia. He also likes visiting more frigid places like Canada, Vermont, Utah, Colorado, and Chamonix, France to do activities like snowboarding and fishing. We are glad to have Michael and all his talents and travels as a part of the Maryland MSTP.

ALLISON ARAI:THE NEUROSCIENCE NATATOR

SARAH DORAN:THE CHAMPION CONNECTICUTER

ALBERT ZHOU:THE MARVELOUS MEYERHOFF

INTRODUCING... MICHAEL LEE:

THE TALENTED TRAVELER

The MSTP welcomed twelve new students and one internal applicant to our program this year. We have introduced all the students in a two part series.

copy by Jeffrey Kleinberger, gs ii

the Dual Decree � Spring 2015 � mdphd.umaryland.edu 7

Kenny is a graduate of the bioengineering program at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has always been a curious person, ever since studying apple seeds during his first research project for a first-grade science fair. That curiosity continued all throughout college, when he became a member of the Gemstone Honors Program. That program provides research training in a longitudinal manner, in

addition to teamwork and leadership training. Kenny’s research focused on metabolic dysregulation leading to obesity. Even in his free time, Kenny and some of his friends used their engineering backgrounds to create an automated cocktail-making machine. A great way to combine his engineering abilities, good friends, and happy hour!

A social person, Kenny enjoys spending time with friends. That was one of his favorite aspects of his time at College Park, in addition to cheering on the Terps basketball team with his fellow classmates. Kenny is an all-around sports fan, and he plays some intramural sports, including soccer. He also enjoys video games when he gets the chance, mainly focusing on sports games. Since his interests overlap with the interests of many MSTP students here, he has already formed friendships that will last.

Kenny felt like the environment at the University of Maryland MSTP was an excellent fit for him. He is interested in a range of research opportunities on campus. He is also excited about the opportunity to be part of clinically-driven research. We are happy to have him as a member of our program, and we are excited to see what research questions he takes on during his time with the MSTP.

This winter in Baltimore has been extreme even for cold-weather enthusiasts, so it must be life-changing for someone like Tien who has only lived in warm-climate areas. Tien lived in Vietnam until the age of 7, when his family came to America and lived in New Orleans followed by Pensacola, Florida. Tien stayed in the warm weather for college at the University of West Florida, where he studied chemistry, biology and psychology. He loved the atmosphere at the small university

because it allowed more professor interaction and research opportunities.Tien’s interest in science was stemmed by an inspiring high school professor.

However, despite his physician-father’s persuasions, Tien resisted the draw of the medical field. It wasn’t until he witnessed the struggles that some of his family members had with illnesses that Tien realized his passion for medicine. Coming to Maryland, he is interested in pursuing neuroscience research. Tien was especially impressed with the “hands-on” approach of our MSTP.

Outside of academics, Tien has a range of interests, with an especially strong love for pets. Sure, he is honing his gardening and cooking skills and likes to relax with some computer games, but he has a deep history with animals. Tien has had four dogs, three cats, seven (7!!!) ducks, and a crawfish, not to mention all the goldfish he has owned. We are glad to have Tien as a part of our program, and we know that he will have better luck with research than he has had with pet-ownership.

Sarah has come to join the University of Maryland from her home state of Connecticut. Not only did she grow up there, but she also attended the University of Connecticut for her undergraduate training. While there, Sarah took part in a BS/MD program that gave her exposure to the clinical field as well as translational research. Sarah is also proud to a member of the student body at UConn in 2014, the year that both the men’s and women’s college basketball teams won the NCAA National Championships.

Since high school, Sarah has known that she wanted to be a physician scientist. At that time, a family member suffered a stroke, and she was able to see first-hand the effects that knowledgeable and compassionate physicians can provide. When she began college, she wanted to learn more about the pathophysiology that underlie strokes. She joined a laboratory that focused on this topic, and she spent all four years doing research there. Sarah loves the idea of using problem-solving in both the fields of medicine and research.

Sarah likes to take part in a diverse set of hobbies in her free time. She enjoys traveling, as shown by her semester abroad in Florence, Italy. In Italy, Sarah studied art history, which was her minor in undergrad. Sarah likes to express her creative side through piano or short story writing. To relieve stress, she likes to go running, knit quietly, or try some delicious wine. We are lucky to have Sarah in our program!

Michael grew up in Bethesda, MD and after, a short stint in the heartland of America, he has returned to Maryland. Michael was a talented high school athlete, making the varsity squad for basketball, baseball and football. During his time in high-school, he was also able to get involved in research at the NHLBI. This experience was the spark of his research career.

After high school, Michael attended Washington University in St. Louis, where he studied biology and applied mathematics. He

first became interested in the dual degree when he did a senior research project in the molecular biology lab of an MD/PhD who persuaded Michael to pursue the physician-scientist career option. Before applying to MD/PhD programs, Michael did research at the Children’s National Medical Center where he studied sinus samples from pediatric patients with upper respiratory disease. So far, Michael has really taken advantage of the wide range of research opportunities in the state of Maryland, and he plans to continue by pursuing the bioengineering opportunities at University of Maryland, College Park, as he did this summer.

In his spare time, Michael enjoys a range of hobbies. He plays all types of sports, he can juggle, and he even likes stretching his mind by reading about theoretical physics. He enjoys traveling abroad, and he has been to locations in Europe, Central America, and Asia. He also likes visiting more frigid places like Canada, Vermont, Utah, Colorado, and Chamonix, France to do activities like snowboarding and fishing. We are glad to have Michael and all his talents and travels as a part of the Maryland MSTP.

SARAH DORAN:THE CHAMPION CONNECTICUTER

TIEN DUONG:THE PET-LOVING PENSACOLIAN

KENNY ROSENBERG:THE TINKERING TERRAPIN

part 2INTRODUCING... MICHAEL LEE:

THE TALENTED TRAVELER

The MSTP welcomed twelve new students and one internal applicant to our program this year. We have introduced all the students in a two part series.

copy by Jeffrey Kleinberger, gs ii

While the overall U.S. vaccination rate remains high (in 2013-14, statewide, only 1.8% of kindergarten-age children had exemptions), there exist geographic areas that exhibit extremely high exemption rates.1 For ex-ample, a whopping 72% of kindergartners in San Juan County, Washington State, held exempt status in 2011. Arguably, vaccination is medicine’s greatest achieve-ment; its conception by clever men like Edward Jen-ner and Louis Pasteur has spared humanity the horrors of smallpox, polio, and diphtheria. Therefore, to many in the scientific and medical community, the choice to withhold vaccination is startling and deeply disturbing.

This sentiment has led many pedi-atricians to “fire” patients whose par-ents refuse vaccination. A survey from 2005 found that among American Academy of Pediatrics members, 39% would dismiss a family for refusing all vaccinations and 29% would dismiss a family for refusing select vaccinations.2 In another sur-vey from 2011, more than 30% of pediatricians in Con-necticut had dismissed a patient due to refusal.3

Judging from personal experience, some stu-dent-doctors respond to anecdotes of patient dismissal with feelings of triumph: “Finally! Physicians are taking a no-nonsense stand against ignorance!” In this senti-ment, there is a dangerous undertone of spite, a tinge of “we’ll show them!” that inexorably reconfigures the patient-physician relationship as oppositional, rather than collaborative. As physician-trainees and young adults, we have no business exhibiting such jaded atti-tudes, particularly towards people and patients who we have not yet even met!

Dismissal has detrimental impacts on both child and community. If a patient is dismissed for his or her par-ents’ hesitancy to vaccinate, the family will either find a physician who has weaker views regarding childhood vaccination, or the child will not receive health care at all. Intuitively, both scenarios lower the child’s probabil-ity of receiving appropriate vaccination. In addition to harming the child, modeling experiments indicate that patient dismissal tends to concentrate vaccine-resistant families into the subset of local clinics that tolerate vac-cine resistance, thereby creating potential disease “hot-spots.”2,4

A compelling argument for dismissal is that it serves

to protect other patients from acquiring disease due to exposure in waiting rooms, an argument not without merit given the role that waiting rooms played in the 1986 measles outbreak in Dade County Florida, among other outbreaks.5,6 However, I refuse to believe that the best and only solution to the waiting room problem is to simply give up and dismiss the unvaccinated patient. Perhaps though a combination of smart phone technol-ogy and house calls, we can screen potential measles

cases and keep our waiting rooms safe while still offering quality patient care. The notion that the men and women of medicine are clever enough to develop vaccine technology but are complete-ly helpless in the face of a clinic waiting room is absurd.

Instead of celebrating or encouraging patient dismissal, we should be strong-ly biased towards patient retention and work towards increasing vaccination

rates. A few studies show that education-al interventions like informational brochures can sway parent perception of vaccination.7,8 However, it seems that “scare tactics,” in which parents are shown images of children sick with measles, mumps, or rubella, or in which parents are given a narrative about a child criti-cally ill with measles, do not work.9 Interestingly, some studies show that trust in the physician and whether the physician took the parents’ concerns regarding vacci-nation seriously is strongly predictive of vaccine accep-tance.10,11 We should thus strive to place ourselves as equals to parents, hear their concerns (even if we fun-damentally disagree), and try to dispel these concerns with a combination of friendship and communication - never through fear or coercion - while always exhibiting

“We should be strongly biased towards patient retention and work towards increasing vaccination rates.”

Medics on Ethics

Attitudes towards Patient Dismissal for Vaccine RefusalJesse stokum, Gs ii

1. Seither R, Masalovich S, Knighton CL et al.(2014) MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 63:913-920. 2. Flanagan-Klygis EA, Sharp L, Frader JE.(2005) Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 159:929-934. 3. Leib S, Liberatos P, Edwards K.(2011) Public Health Rep 126 Suppl 2:13-23. PMC3113426.4. Buttenheim AM, Cherng ST, Asch DA.(2013) Hum Vaccin Immunother 9:1819-1824. PMC3906288.5. Hutchins SS, Escolan J, Markowitz LE et al.(1989) Pediatrics 83:369-374. 6. Bloch AB, Orenstein WA, Ewing WM et al.(1985) Pediatrics 75:676-683. 7. Williams SE, Rothman RL, Offit PA et al.(2013) Acad Pediatr 13:475-480. PMC3767934.8. Gowda C, Schaffer SE, Kopec K et al.(2013) Hum Vaccin Immunother 9:437-445. PMC3859769.9. Nyhan B, Reifler J, Richey S et al.(2014) Pediatrics 133:e835-e842. 10. Marlow LA, Waller J, Wardle J.(2007) Hum Vaccin 3:171-175. 11. Benin AL, Wisler-Scher DJ, Colson E et al.(2006) Pediatrics 117:1532-1541.

Spring 20158 the Dual Decree

Jackline Lasola, MS I Sai Sachin Divakaruni, GS I

Best of Baltimore:Spring 2015 9mdphd.umaryland.edu

Best food truck within a five-block

radius

HS/HSL 3rd floor by the windows

Halal Cart (in front of UMMC)

Miss Shirley’s

Hiking in Patapsco State Park Museum hopping on the Washington Mall

Fort McHenry

Crema Coffee in HSFIPeace and a Cup of Joe

Ra SushiPickles PubAlewife

Woodbery Kitchen

Pub Dog

Max’s Taphouse

Best place to nap on campus

Best brunch

Best out-of-town get-away

Best green space with-in city-limits

Best coffee spot

Best happy hour

Best date night restaurant

Best bar in Fed. Hill

Best bar in Fell’s Pt.

Best food

AMERICAN: Food Market B&O Woodberry KitchenCHINESE: Wok and RollDESSERT: Vaccaro’s LATE-NIGHT: Chinese Delivery UMMC 24hr Subway The Bun Shop

INDIAN: Memsahib ITALIAN: Sotto Sopra Chiaparelli’sMIDDLE EASTERN: The HelmandTHAI: Thai ArroyWINGS Delia Foley’s

Your placeHS/HSLPods

Best study spot

umb’s mstp student edition

10 the Dual Decree Spring 2015

CONFERENCESKristi Chakrabarti presented her abstract “Effect of AMPK on McTN Formation in Breast Cancer Cells“ at Keystone conference “Integrating Metabolism and Tumor Biology” in Vancouver, BC from January 13-18.

kristi Chakrabarti, Gs ii received a F30

haiwen Chen, Gs iii received a F30

peter li is engaged!

Geriatrics and Gerontology Education and Research Program (GGEAR) Award

adam fisCh, GS IV

Poster Presentation Christy perry, GS III haley simpson, GS II

GRADUATE RESEARCH CONFERENCE

PERSONALS

congrats!

Affix Mailing Label & Postage

SPRING BREAK! MS-I’s Albert Zhou, Tony Cole, Sarah Doran, Eric Klontz and Kenny Rosenberg demonstrate MD/PhD pride on a beach in costa rica.