Greetings from Irvine!
The MD/PhD students of UCI would like to offer a sincere welcome to all prospective students, interested faculty, and any curious visitors to our website. As physician-scientists in training, we are proud to call ourselves Anteaters (zot! zot! zot!) not only because of UCI’s reputation as a premier research institution, but also because of the integral role UCI Health plays in serving the vast and diverse population of Orange County. Beyond research and healthcare, our university is dedicated to educating Californians of all socioeconomic backgrounds and has twice topped the New York Times’ College Access Index ranking. As MSTP students, we have the privilege of interfacing with all facets of UCI, from the classroom, to the laboratory, to the clinic.
MSTP students conduct their thesis work on every corner of campus from the School of Medicine, to the School of Biological Sciences, the Henry Samueli School of Engineering, the Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, and the School of Social Ecology.
Many of us are neuroscientists working in fields such as spinal cord injury (Reeve-Irvine Research Center), neurodegeneration (UCI MIND), or learning and memory (Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory). UCI is renowned for its Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center where MSTP students study everything from stem cell therapeutics to regeneration to development. A significant number of us are bioengineers working on optical imaging (Beckman Laser Institute), cardiovascular imaging (Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology), and even synthetic evolution. You will also find our students in programs for epidemiology, toxicology, and public health.
A great strength of our program is the diversity of research conducted by the students. At program-sponsored lunches, meetings, symposiums, and our annual retreat, we learn about our peers’ research and are forced to consider our own work from different perspectives.
In addition to cutting- edge research, UC Irvine’s dedication to medical education makes it an ideal place to train as a future clinician. The Office of Medical Education excels in assessing and adapting to student feedback. The School of Medicine has also pioneered educational technologies in the lecture hall, the Clinical Skills Center, the Simulation Center, and, of course, our state of the art UCI Medical Center. In addition to the Medical Center, our students train at an impressive group of affiliated hospitals that includes the Veterans Affairs Long Beach Healthcare System, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Miller’s Children’s Hospital, and the Children’s Hospital of Orange County. This array of opportunities provides incredible diversity both in medical training and in the patient population that we serve.
Contrary to popular stereotypes (thanks to a certain teen drama of the early ots), Orange County provides a rich and diverse cultural community in which to train as a physician, pursue research, and enjoy life outside the lab and clinic. Our students form a tightknit family from varied backgrounds who all share a passion for science and patient advocacy, and a pride for our Medical Scientist Training Program. Many aspects of our program are student-run, which affords us leadership roles that might not otherwise be available in graduate or medical school. Ultimately, our program not only trains future physician-scientists, but also balanced and capable leaders.
Please explore our site to learn more about our program and feel free to visit us anytime! Also, do not hesitate to contact any of us with questions about the program. You can find all of our contact info in the student’s profiles page.
Sincerely,
the UCI MSTP students