Grant award provides new discovery pathway for MSTP students to translate promising scientific discoveries into medicines
Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine recently announced a new program to help the next generation of physician-scientists advance their discoveries into breakthrough medicines. The Harrington-Medical Scientist Training Program (Harrington-MSTP) is a two-year scholarship for CWRU MSTP students whose work has been identified as innovative, creative and having potential to progress toward clinical application.
Since its founding in 2012, Harrington Discovery Institute—part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development—has supported more than 100 drugs-in-the-making across disease areas and academic institutions. Core to its mission, Harrington Discovery Institute recognizes and supports inventive physician-scientists through dedicated programs, including the global Harrington Prize (partnered with The American Society for Clinical Investigation), the Scholar-Innovator Award for physician-scientists in the U.S. and Canada, and the Cleveland-based Harrington Physician Investigator and Fellows programs. The Institute has now expanded its model to include MD/PhD candidates.
The Case Western Reserve School of Medicine launched the first MD/PhD program in the U.S. in 1956, nearly a decade before the NIH established the Medical Scientist Training Program to support the training of physician-scientists. The initiative was also among the first universities to receive NIH funding for its program. The first-in-kind Harrington-MSTP scholarship thus continues a long tradition of innovating medical education.
In this program, Harrington Discovery Institute and the School of Medicine combine resources and capabilities to advance into new medicines the most promising independent research of CWRU MSTP students. Students who are selected for the award will receive grant funding and drug development expertise from Harrington Discovery Institute for two years, with the opportunity to qualify for additional funding.
“We seek creative ways to enable the work of physician-scientists to improve human health,” said Jonathan S. Stamler, president of Harrington Discovery Institute. “The earlier we establish the importance of innovation in the minds of young physicians, the better. We are pleased to collaborate with Case Western Reserve to create a new MSTP pathway that advances discoveries by the next generation of physician-scientists.”
“The Harrington-MSTP program is an extraordinary opportunity for the students who are selected. We are committed to cultivating creativity in our students and providing them with the tools they need to successfully launch their careers,” said Derek Abbott, program director of the Medical Scientist Training Program at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine. “Grant funding coupled with guidance from industry executives is unheard of in MD/PhD programs, and we are excited about the possibilities this unique program offers our students and the medical community.”
The inaugural call for applications opened this month. Applications will be assessed based on quality of science, innovativeness and creativity of the work and its potential to advance toward the clinic. Up to two Harrington-MSTP Scholars will be selected in spring 2020.
Harrington Discovery Institute
The Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland—part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development—aims to advance medicine and society by enabling our nation’s most inventive scientists to turn their discoveries into medicines that improve human health. The institute was created in 2012 with a $50 million founding gift from the Harrington family and instantiates the commitment they share with University Hospitals to a Vision for a ‘Better World.’
University Hospitals, Cleveland, Ohio
For more information, please visit: UHhospitals.org.
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
For more information about the School of Medicine, please visit: case.edu/medicine.