Degree recipients are, from left, Dr. Karl Kuhn, Dr. Mias Pretorius, Dr. Stacy Moulder, Kong Chen, Ph.D., and Dr. Rick Barr.
Five graduate from inaugural program
Blazing a trail for those who will follow, five members of the first class in the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Program received their degrees during Vanderbilt’s May 10 graduation ceremony. The group spent two years training to become patient-oriented research investigators, with the goal of translating the tremendous advances in molecular biology and diagnostic technologies of late into a better understanding of human pathophysiology and disease.
The MSCI Program occupies a unique niche within the continuum of post-graduate medical training programs at the Medical Center. It stands in contrast to the M.D.-Ph.D. program, which trains physician-scientists to perform basic molecular research, and the M.P.H. program, which trains physician-scientists to perform epidemiology, outcomes, health services and quality improvement research.
The MSCI Program trains physicians and other health professionals in the fundamental tools of patient-oriented research, which generally involves hypothesis-driven research on patients, often within the context of clinical trials of new drugs, devices, or procedures. Graduates will be poised to make major contributions to the treatment of human disease over the coming decades.
The five graduates who were awarded the Program’s inaugural degrees are Dr. Frederick Earl Barr, Kong Yin Chen, Ph.D., Dr. Karl Philip Kuhn, Dr. Stacy Lynn Moulder, and Dr. Mias Pretorius.