Clinical/Translational Neuroimaging MD/PhD

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

fdgjfg

Full Member
10+ Year Member
Joined
Jan 27, 2013
Messages
66
Reaction score
111
Hi all,

I'm preparing to apply during the 2017-2018 cycle, and am in the unfortunate position of being undecided on whether I would like to apply to MD or MD/PhD programs. I was hoping to get some opinions here.

The issue that's giving me trouble is that I'm a bit picky, in that I would only be interested in doing a PhD in clinical neuroimaging. (Past experiences have lead me to believe I wouldn't particularly enjoy wetlab bench work).

There are a couple of problems I see with this: 1). it seems like less programs cater to the interest, and the ones that do are very competitive (i.e. Penn, Harvard). My application is alright but certainly nothing special, and I'm intimidated enough by just the MD cycle. 2). I'm not sure how useful a PhD would be. Neuroimaging research is pretty common in psychiatry/neurology, and I might be able to get by with the experience I already have if I had some good biophysics collaborators. On the other hand, if I really wanted to understand sequence design and not have to rely on collaborators (and not be considered a "blob-ologist" by the engineering/physics crowd) a few years of focused study would be really helpful. However, I'm not sure whether I can even get that deep, as my background is more on the biology side rather than the engineering side, and acquiring the requisite quantitative skills might not be possible.


If anyone has opinions on this, I would really appreciate it!

Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
We have a good number of imaging people at Indiana/Purdue. One of the MD/PhD students in my year does cardiovascular MRI and ultrasound research. In the years above I can think of one that does fMRI. One in TBI/neuroimaging. One in photoacoustics for oncology. One I believe does ultrasound/photoacoustics for atherosclerosis. There are classes available on imaging theory, programming, mathematics, etc. You don't want it to be too much of your time, but there is some opportunity to take supplemental coursework during the PhD. I am in engineering (biomaterials/biomechanics), but I can't say I know that much about how the prerequisite coursework would work out for neuroimaging specifically.

I would imagine that in addition to top programs, many of the large engineering schools (IU/Purdue, OSU, PSU, UIC, Colorado, Minnesota, UW, etc) outside of the top 20 also have good neuroimaging people. Something to discuss with the programs as you look through them but I definitely think you'll be able to find a few options if you search enough.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Hi all,

I'm preparing to apply during the 2017-2018 cycle, and am in the unfortunate position of being undecided on whether I would like to apply to MD or MD/PhD programs. I was hoping to get some opinions here. Just to give a basic outline of my application:

MCAT:521
cGPA:3.7/sGPA:3.8/top 15 undergrad
undergrad: 3 years+honors thesis research in neuropharmacology/preclinical neuroimaging
gap years: currently in the first of two planned gap years, doing clinical neuroimaging work in a neurology lab
1 middle author and 1 2nd author paper in print, 1 middle author and 1 first author paper currently under review (all middle impact journals)
~250 hours of clinical volunteering
~300 hours nonclinical volunteering

The issue that's giving me trouble is that I'm a bit picky, in that I would only be interested in doing a PhD in clinical neuroimaging. (Past experiences have lead me to believe I wouldn't particularly enjoy wetlab bench work).

There are a couple of problems I see with this: 1). it seems like less programs cater to the interest, and the ones that do are very competitive (i.e. Penn, Harvard).

Your application is very competitive. What exactly is your concern? Not all programs in imaging are at top tier programs either. Your post makes it sound very black and white and it is not.

2). I'm not sure how useful a PhD would be. Neuroimaging research is pretty common in psychiatry/neurology, and I might be able to get by with the experience I already have if I had some good biophysics collaborators.

This depends on what you want to try to do with your life.

On the other hand, if I really wanted to understand sequence design and not have to rely on collaborators (and not be considered a "blob-ologist" by the engineering/physics crowd) a few years of focused study would be really helpful. However, I'm not sure whether I can even get that deep, as my background is more on the biology side rather than the engineering side, and acquiring the requisite quantitative skills might not be possible.

I wouldn't let that concern stop you. Everyone comes to imaging labs with a different background. It's a steep learning curve for everyone.

My current PI has been encouraging me to apply MSTP to the institution I work at (top 20 medical school), with the idea that I could stay in the lab if accepted, which would make getting out in 7 years more likely. I'm considering sending a single MSTP app here, and MD everywhere else, but I know this is probably a stupid idea.

If anyone has opinions on this, I would really appreciate it!

MD/PhD is a lifelong and lifestyle commitment. You need to commit to it even if you have to start over in a new lab. You coming into it thinking you only want to do it if you can get a quick and easy PhD is a poor way to look at it. There will be more challenges than you expect, and you will be committing to more training and harship later. This decision is up to you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Members don't see this ad :)
Current neuroimaging MD/PhD student here.

Most programs in the USNews top 20 or 25(ish) will have multiple neuroimaging folks for you to work with. However, like you said, most of these programs are extremely difficult to get in to and there are programs with great neuroimaging faculty outside of the top programs. Some programs you might look into that are still overall strong programs and have some great neuroimaging folks (in my own personal experiences/opinion): Wake Forest, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, MUSC, Colorado, and Dartmouth (and probably several others that I am missing). I think you might want to look in to what many MD/PhD programs have to offer in the way of neuroimaging (including some of the smaller programs) and then make the decision to apply MD versus MD/PhD. Keep in mind though, that if you are serious about doing neuroimaging research, you will have to put in the time at some point, whether that's doing a PhD or doing a fellowship after residency. My personal thinking at the time I was applying was that I knew I wanted to try the whole physician-scientist thing (specializing in neuroimaging research), so I might as well pay my dues sooner rather than later (when I might have a family, student debt, etc).

Also, another rather technical topic that you'll want to get strong training in for neuroimaging research- stats, stats, and more stats! Some of the major controversies in the field are directly related to how we analyze our massive datasets and correct for multiple comparisons- the particular topic that comes to my mind to know backwards and forwards is linear regression (although other topics are important as well).

Feel free to send me a PM if you have any questions.
 
Last edited:
I applied to Penn's and Harvard's & MIT's neuroimaging programs this year, and can confirm that they're pretty competitive; however, it helped that I'm doing an MSc at Oxford and made contacts as well as interviewed at the MGH/HMS Martinos imaging center beforehand. For ref., I was going to work on a PET linked drug screening assay between Harvard and Oxford for my thesis, but ended up collaborating with a pharmaceutical company and doing a visiting scholarship at the University of Manchester, instead. I also decided against a PhD to go into banking and/or pharmaceutical sales due to income potential, consulting opportunities, etc.
 
Last edited:
Top