Mentorship

Director Advising

MSTP students are assigned an advising MSTP director their first year in the program. Advising MSTP Directors provide longitudinal guidance throughout training, and importantly, continuity during transitions between MD and PhD years. Annual advising meetings of students with MSTP directors are tracked and enable trainees and faculty to identify strengths, weaknesses, and seek support as needed. Additional meetings are scheduled depending on the needs of the student. The MSTP has made a concerted effort in the past 5 years to recruit a diverse directorship to provide varied backgrounds with which advisees can identify.

MSTP Longitudinal Family Program

The MSTP Families program is designed to integrate current MD-PHD students across all years in the program to create a sense of cohesiveness and opportunities for growth within the program. Each set of 10-15 students spanning program years form a“family” and are headed by an MSTP director. In addition to providing community and identity, this program also supports the professional and personal development of MSTP students with in-person mentoring opportunities among students and small-group director-led career development meetings at each stage of their journey. This program highlights our mission of celebrating the differences and uniqueness of each individual MSTP students and their training but also leverages the strength of the collective community. 

Big Sib/Little Sib Program

Every MSTP first-year student is paired up with a second-year student who will be their “Big Sib” mentor. Focusing on helping our newly admitted students transition to the program, adjusting to medical school and ultimately their graduate program, this mentorship program provides peer advice and support for our students.