The Summer 2010 issue of Phi Psi starts off the new Academic 2010-2011 year with our new leadership and new editors. Aboard this year are returning editors Hung Doan and Daniel Matson. New editors for the newsletter include James Giles from the University of Manchester, UK; Evan Noch from Temple University, and Curtis Gabriel from Vanderbilt University.

We are delighted with this issue of Phi Psi which includes a Letter from the President, Christopher Alverez-Breckenridge, discussing opportunities to become involved with APSA and events to be on the lookout for.

From the President

Christopher Alvarez-Breckenridge, The Ohio State University

Greetings fellow APSA members!  As we embark on a new academic year, I am excited to report on a number of exciting developments.  Following the Annual Meeting in April, we have transitioned in a new Executive Council, Standing Committees, and Institutional Representatives.

I would personally like to thank all the individuals who have taken on the responsibility of a leadership position within APSA.  Due to your dedication and hard work, we are able to ensure the long-term stability of our organization.  Additionally, for those of you at schools that do not have an Institutional Representative, I urge you to consider taking on this important leadership opportunity.

Personal Note

Suzan Zhang, MD, PGY-1 Resident, Massachusetts General Hospital

I graduated from Peking Union Medical College in China. During medical school, I had an opportunity for two-months’ elective clerkships in UCSF, where I was so fascinated by the close integration of biomedical research and clinical practice. Aspiring to become a physician scientist, I came to the United States for further research and clinical trainings.

During my PhD study at the Johns Hopkins University, I was very fortunate to perform research in a wide variety of fields, from basic to translational, and to clinical trials.  I witnessed the seamless transition from bench to bedside research, with the potential to impact peoples’ lives. I still remember my medical school years when I felt so disheartened because of my patient’s dismal prognosis. But now I am more confident to believe that our knowledge is never limited, as there is always hope from research in the lab.

Physician-Scientist Spotlight: Dr. E. Antonio Chiocca, MD, PhD

Evan Noch, Temple University

For this issue, we interviewed a successful MD/PhD neurosurgeon and enthusiastic physician-scientist.  E. Antonio Chiocca, MD. PhD. is Professor and Chairman of Neurological Surgery at The Ohio State University School of Medicine, Co-director of the Dardinger Laboratory for Neuro-oncology and Neurosciences, Co-director of the Viral Oncogenesis Program at Ohio State’s Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Leader of the Neuroscience Signature Program.  In this interview, we discuss the status of MD/PhD training in this country, perceptions about MD/PhD surgeons, and the outlook and prospects in the field of neuro-oncology in the coming years.

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Evan:  How did you get interested in becoming an MD/PhD physician-scientist?

APSA 2010 Annual Meeting Recap

Jarish Cohen, University of Virginia Medical School

The 2010 APSA Annual Meeting commenced on April 23 at the Fairmont Hotel in Chicago. This year, APSA welcomed over 300 participants from around the United States and overseas, the majority of which were MD-PhD students. The Annual Meeting commenced with a keynote talk by Dr. E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA. Dr. Reece discussed his rise through the scientific and academic ranks, from his early days as a student in his native Jamaica to his current position as Dean of University of Maryland’s School of Medicine. Additionally, he detailed his investigations into the mechanisms that cause diabetic embryopathy. Next, Annual Meeting participants were privileged to hear an inspirational keynote talk by Dr. Joseph Goldstein, MD, the 1985 Nobel Prize winner in Physiology or Medicine along with Dr. Michael Brown, MD.  Dr.

Social Sciences and Humanities Subsection Created

Utpal Sandesara, Nick Iacobelli, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

On March 29, 2009, APSA gained its first official subsection when a nationwide community of MD-PhD trainees in the social sciences and humanities (SSH) voted to join the organization. SSH trainees reach across disciplinary boundaries by combining medicine with scholarship in social and humanistic domains.  APSA’s newly-incorporated subsection allows these trainees to participate in the broader community of physician-scientists while maintaining a distinct, rich identity.

This integration represents the next step in a history that began with a seminal 2005 conference in San Francisco. Since that time, SSH trainees have held biennial meetings—in Chicago in 2007 and Philadelphia in 2009—each drawing approximately 100 attendees from programs throughout the US and Canada.

Book Review: Connected: The Amazing Power of Social Networking and How They Shape Our lives by Nicholas Christakis, MD, PhD and James Fowler, PhD

James Giles, The University of Manchester, UK

‘Social networking’ is a phrase that has entered common parlance as a result of the emergence of web-based networking . Our social network is the string of connections between ourselves and our friends, and from there to our friends’ friends and so on. I found Connected, by Christakis (Harvard) and Fowler (UCSD), to offer significant insight into the influence of social networks on their inhabitants: from our appearance to our emotional state. It does make you stop momentarily to consider the implications of clicking ‘login’ on Facebook.