Medical Student Research Programs

Icahn School of Medicine is home to clinical and translational investigators involved in cutting-edge research. Many serve as mentors to medical and graduate students to guide them to formulate a hypothesis, develop a research plan, carry out experiments, and analyze results. In addition, mentors provide the setting and experience to encourage medical students to pursue careers as physician-scientists.

Students may get involved in patient-oriented research as early as their first year of medical school. Mount Sinai provides opportunities for students to conduct research throughout their educational experience. Research can be carried out during the first year, during the summer break between the first and second years, during a full-year Scholarly Year, or as part of the five-year dual degree PORTAL Program in which students earn both the MD and Master of Science in Clinical Research degrees. Educational programs are designed to not only expand critical thinking skills, but also to express creativity and promote intellectual independence.

TL1 Summer Program in Clinical and Translational Research

PRISM - Patient Research in Science and Medicine

PRISM, the TL1 summer program supported by Conduits, provides students between their first and second years of medical school with the chance to carry out eight weeks of clinical and translational research.

PORTAL Program (Five-Year MD and Master of Science in Clinical Research Program)

This strongly mentored program offers a multidisciplinary approach to clinical investigation in order to introduce medical students to the field of clinical and translational research and how it drives the practice of clinical medicine. From the very start of their medical education, students will be part of a select group of scholars that integrates learning about clinical medicine and developing the skills required to perform clinical investigation.

FAME (Fellows As Mentors Program)

FAME is a peer-mentored program in which Doris Duke fellows mentor first- and second-year medical students who are interested in actively participating in a clinical research project at the very beginning of their education. The goal is to expose mentees to clinical and translational research and to offer them the support necessary to actively participate in projects during the school year.

Scholarly Year

Medical students can choose to devote a year to conducting research in order to have a more intensive experience than otherwise possible. The project can be done either at Mount Sinai or at another site. Mount Sinai students are supported during their Scholarly Year by major national fellowship programs, including those sponsored by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Clinical Research Training Program, the Sarnoff Foundation, and the Fogarty International Center at the NIH.

Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship

Mount Sinai is one of 12 medical schools nationally with this intensive 12-month program that provides the opportunity to carry out an independent clinical research project, as well as to participate in courses that provide training in fundamental research skills. The program is designed to encourage medical students to pursue careers in clinical research by giving exceptional students the opportunity to spend a year experiencing clinical research first hand and conducting an original clinical research project.

INSPIRE (Individual Scholarly Project and Independent Research Experience Program)

This 12-week program is designed to enable fourth-year medical students to conduct a scholarly research project. Regularly scheduled meetings provide students with support, expose them to faculty members who are clinician-scholars, and allow students within the group to share experiences. At the end of the program, students present their findings at the INSPIRE Research Day.

Medical Student Research Program Leadership

Alan Moskowitz, MD
Co-Director, MSCR Program
Co-Director, PORTAL
E-mail: alan.moskowitz@mssm.edu

Karen Zier, PhD
Director, Medical Student Research Office
Director, Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program, PORTAL, INSPIRE
E-mail: karen.zier@mssm.edu

Janice L. Gabrilove, MD
Co-Director, PORTAL Program
E-mail: janice.gabrilove@mssm.edu

Steve Itzkowitz, MD
Co-Director, Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship Program
E-mail: steven.itzkowitz@mssm.edu

Christina Wyatt, MD
Co-Director, INSPIRE
E-mail: christina.wyatt@mssm.edu