Mission Statement
The University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine and the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine of the National University of Singapore (NUS) will collaborate in responding to the global, national and local need for the training of more Physician-Scientists. Specifically, students doing their medical training at NUS will have the opportunity to do a PhD degree at UCSD. This program is sponsored by UCSD, NUS, and A*Star.

Introduction
At the turn of the last century medicine was more of an art than a science, with limited communication between medical doctors and scientists. The Flexner Report of 1910 transformed US medical education, making medical schools an integral part of universities, and established a tradition of having clinical teaching departments and faculty into close association with basic sciences. The emergence of honor societies of "Physician-Scientists" solidified the notion that sound medical advances are likely to occur when physicians are well grounded in research, and can thus collaborate freely with Ph.D. scientists who have a reciprocal interest. The brightest medical graduates sought out training in research, and eventually populated the academic ranks of the most successful US medical schools. The establishment of the NIH-funded M.D./Ph.D. Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) in the USA and the MBBS-PhD Program at NUS Singapore ensures that students who committed very early to this career path were well grounded in both worlds. However, the bulk of the national physician-scientist pool continued to come from so-called "late bloomers", who took up research after finishing most of their medical training. Combined with the remarkable achievements of PhD scientists, the beginning of this century is thus witness to a revolution in US biomedical research. However, a critical factor limiting the translating of these discoveries into practice is the marked fall in numbers of trainees entering the "late-bloomer" pathway for physician-scientist training. Thus, at the very time that the biomedical enterprise most needs them, physicians with solid training in research are becoming an endangered species, with potentially dire consequences for medical progress. The UCSD SOM now proposes to rise to this challenge by offering various options for medical students to get involved in research

Program Goals
The MBBS-PhD Program at Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, is thus established to train medical-scientists who are able to apply basic research in the investigation and solution of biomedical problems. This program is jointly supported by the National University of Singapore, in collaboration with the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore. Students selected for the MBBS-PhD program will be awarded prestigious scholarships from A*STAR, which will pay full tuition fees and provide stipends from the time of admission until the end of the program. The students will be expected to support themselves for any additional time required to complete the program beyond the time frame agreed upon with A*STAR.

UCSD/NUS Student Candidate Timeline
This timeline describes the breakdown of steps to take as a UCSD/NUS Candidate:

1st Year	Year One at YLL SOM (Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine) Complete First Professional MBBS exam
2nd Year	Year Two at YLL SOM Complete Second Professional Part I MBBS exam
3rd Year	Year Three at YLL SOM Complete Second Professional Part II MBBS exam Start researching laboratories for rotation in UCSD Commence liaison with Physician-Scientist Program at UCSD
4th Year	Year Four at YLL SOM Finalize application for laboratory rotation Complete Second Professional Part III MBBS exam Laboratory Attachment at UCSD during Overseas Electives Period (Late Spring-Early Summer) *See UCSD Process below
5th Year	Year Five at YLL SOM Complete Final Professional MBBS exam (March)
6th Year	Complete One Year House Officer Training (April-April) Complete second and third laboratory rotation at UCSD
7th Year	Commence PhD studies at UCSD (Fall Quarter)

UCSD Process
This is a brief description of the actions that take place after you have completed your 4th year at NUS. For most of the UCSD PhD Programs, the students need to complete a one 6 week rotation in the first summer, and then two, 6 week rotations in the second summer prior to starting their thesis. Thereafter, the goal is to complete the PhD within four years if at all possible. A*STAR will be fully funding the summer rotations and 3 years of the PhD program (additional years of support if needed will be provided by the PhD mentor). Ideally, the first summer rotation will be planned 1 year in advance to allow for administrative details and curriculum to be designed.

Applicant Criteria
(Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine and A*STAR)
Applicants must be Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine's medical students who have completed the first 3 years of the MBBS training and who have the necessary research experience. Students will be accepted into the Program on the basis of excellent academic results, prior research experience (for a minimum of 3 months) and strong interest in pursuing a medical scientist track.

Summer Rotation Application Procedures at UCSD
If you are interested in a UCSD Summer Rotation, please provide the following for consideration:

• Curriculum Vitae
• Short written statement (1 page or less) regarding your prior experience in research, including lists of techniques you are familiar with
• Names/titles/email addresses of at least three professional references (including in particular, prior research mentors
• Letters of references (preferably in PDF format)
• PDF of a letter of introduction from NUS, formally signed by the Dean
• Please email all of the items above to: AdpstAdmin@ucsd.edu (Checklist will be provided) to the attention of Ajit Varki, MD, Associate Dean for the Physician-Scientist Training Program

Once, formally considered and, if invited to participate in the summer rotation at UCSD, The Physician-Scientist Training Program will help you find a laboratory that will match your research interest for a 6-week rotation.

Getting ready for the first summer rotation
Once acceptance into the program at NUS has been confirmed, and funding is established from A*STAR, you will be ready for your first summer rotation at UCSD. The Physician-Scientist Training Program will help you transition into the 6 week rotation, The following are items that you should consider and work on with a year in advance prior to the starting the rotation, and the Physician-Scientist Training Program will be happy to help you with these matters:

• Laboratory rotation search
• VISA requirements
• Visiting Scholar status at UCSD
• Personal monetary support (not A*STAR derived)
• Housing during 6 week rotation
• Healthcare insurance while in the U.S.

Getting ready to formally apply to PhD Program of choice
During the first lab rotation, exposure to all the PhD Programs at UCSD will be available and you will be assisted in establishing contact with their representatives.

Consecutive summer rotations
Two other 6- week rotations will take place, prior to starting thesis. Same items as above will apply.

If you have any other questions regarding this process, please feel free to contact:

The Physician-Scientist Training Program
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0713
Email: adpstadmin@ucsd.edu
Tel: (858) 822-2663
Fax: (858) 822-6556

Programme Administrator
MBBS-PhD Program
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine
National University of Singapore
Email: medlcl@nus.edu.sg
Web: http://www.med.nus.edu.sg/mbbsphd/ 
Tel: (65)65164923