Dear Applicant: 

Thank you for your interest in the M.D./Ph.D. program at The University of Texas at Houston. This program is jointly sponsored and involves the combined faculties and resources of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Approximately five students have been admitted to the program each year since its establishment in 1981. 

The formal M.D./Ph.D. program provides an opportunity for outstanding students with dedicated interests in academic medicine and biomedical research to participate in an organized program leading to the M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in approximately six years. The program of study is flexible and tailored to the interests and background of each student admitted to the program, with an emphasis on interfacing activities between the basic sciences and clinical faculties of The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Health Science Center, which includes the Medical School, the Graduate School, the Dental Branch and other professional schools. 

Program setting -- One of the greatest strengths of the M.D./Ph.D. program at UT Houston derives from its location in the Texas Medical Center, one of the world's largest and most modern facilities for medical care, education, and research. The TMC includes nine hospitals, six research units, and 14 teaching institutions and offers extraordinary opportunities for basic and clinical research. 

The Medical School has progressed from its prior status as an emerging medical school to a full-fledged, although new, medical educational institution. Nationally competitive residency training programs have been launched, and major research efforts have been initiated and become productive. The primary objective of The University of Texas Medical School at Houston is the education of physicians for practice. In addition to the prevention and cure of disease and the alleviation of physical and emotional suffering, modern physicians remains as responsible as ever as advisors and counselors to their patients in matters pertaining to physical and mental health. To achieve this goal, the School endeavors to select a broadly representative group of well_prepared, highly motivated, intellectually able, and emotionally stable young people with a variety of cultural, social, and economic backgrounds and experience. The School also offers them opportunities for personalized educational experiences which will encourage them to understand the biological and scientific bases of modern medicine, the cultural and social forces which shape modern medicine, and the role of physicians in that culture. Students are also trained in cognitive, manual, and interpersonal skills necessary for the physician. 

The Graduate School has a faculty of 450 members, a highly flexible curriculum, and a non-departmentalized organizational structure. The research interests of the faculty cover the entire spectrum of the biomedical sciences. Students have the option of affiliating with one of the 12 organized programs of study or of developing individualized programs of an inter- or multi-disciplinary nature. Formal programs of study currently exist in Anatomy, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Cancer Biology, Genetics, Immunology, Microbiology, Neuroscience, Pathology, Pharmacology, Regulatory Biology, Reproductive Biology, Toxicology, and Virology. 

The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center is the largest unit in the Texas Medical Center and renowned for its advances in the treatment of cancer and for the basic and applied research conducted there in the area of cancer biology. 

Research opportunities are also available at the specialized research facilities with which Graduate School faculty are associated. These facilities include an analytical chemistry center, cyclotrons and positron emitting tomography apparatus, nuclear magnetic resonance imaging devices, and microprobe and flow microfluorometry laboratories. 

Recommended M.D./Ph.D. Program of Study -- The following program is suggested by the M.D./Ph.D. Committee as an effective way to meet the requirements of the M.D./Ph.D. dual-degree program. This program is proposed to illustrate to students and advisors how the requirements can be met in six years, but is not meant to discourage the design of alternative programs which meet the same requirements. The Committee will use this program as a guideline, but will encourage entering students to explore alternative routes which take into consideration their own goals and interests.

Year 1
Enter June 1

(a)Orientation
(b)Research tutorials I & II (4-5 weeks each)
(c)Summer research seminar series

August 15- May 15

(a)First year Medical School curriculum
(b)Topics in Molecular Medicine

Year 2
June 1-August 14

(a)Research tutorial III/Thesis research
(b)Quantitative Area Course Requirement
(c)Summer research seminar series

August 15- June 30

(a)Second year Medical School curriculum
(b)Topics in Molecular Medicine
(c)Designation of thesis advisor and research program before end of year 2
(d)Thesis research (optional)
(e)Take National Boards, Part I (June)

Year 3-additional years
(a)One or more of the standard third year Medical School Clinical Clerkships before starting research full-time
(b)Ethics Course
(c)Thesis research/Candidacy examination
(d)Thesis research and defense
(e)Topics in Molecular Medicine
(f)Completion of Clinical Clerkships
   Required:48 weeks third year clerkships, 5 months fourth year clerkships
   Elective: 6 months unspecified, or may be substituted with advanced courses and thesis research
 

Topics in Molecular Medicine Course -- Throughout the M.D./Ph.D. Program, emphasis is placed on the relationship of biomedical research to the clinical aspects of the training. One important means of integration is the Topics in Molecular Medicine course. In this series all students in the program meet weekly to discuss current topics in biomedical research. Based on a monthly theme, the meetings include presentations by local faculty and visiting experts, as well as discussions by students on papers from the current literature.

Computers and Quantitative Biology -- An additional unifying factor in the UT Houston program is the effort to have M.D./Ph.D. students make use of computers in nearly every aspect of the curriculum. Students are required to complete a course in the Quantitative Area

Guidance -- In order to provide students the direction and assistance they need throughout the program, the M.D./Ph.D. Committee has developed an individualized approach to guidance. Initially, students are assigned an advisor to assist them in course selections, to help them focus on a research problem, and other matters. Later on, the student selects a research advisor and, ultimately, a supervisory committee that guides the student in his or her dissertation research. The M.D./Ph.D. Committee continuously monitors the student's progress and provides any other assistance needed.

Financial aid -- Fellowships are available for students admitted to the program that meet the cost of tuition and provide a yearly stipend of $20,800 for the duration of the Program.

For more information on the program, please feel free to contact any of the individuals listed below.
 

Again, we are delighted that you are considering the M.D./Ph.D. program at UT Houston and we look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Dianna Milewicz, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, M.D./Ph.D. Program