Government Support Accelerates Training of 'Physician Scientists'... 14 New PhDs Graduated

Completion Ceremony of the Convergence Physician-Scientist Training Program.
Photo by Ministry of Health and Welfare

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] The training of 'physician-scientists' who research 'unmet medical needs' that are difficult to solve in clinical settings has been launched in earnest.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Korea Health Industry Development Institute held the '2023 Convergent Physician-Scientist Training Program Completion Ceremony and Meeting' on the 16th. Since 2019, the Ministry and the Institute have been supporting various research activities through the convergent physician-scientist training program.

A physician-scientist (MD-Ph.D) refers to a researcher who combines clinical knowledge with basic medical science and engineering research capabilities to provide a unique perspective in biohealth R&D and clinical trials.

The government has been promoting full-cycle physician-scientist training by starting a pilot project for residents in 2019, supporting a full-time doctoral program in 2020, and adding an undergraduate medical scientist program in 2022. As a result, unlike before when over 99% of medical school graduates chose clinical careers, about 3-4% (around 110 people) newly enter the physician-scientist career path each year.

At the completion ceremony, certificates were awarded to 14 physician-scientists. Including the 3 graduates from last February, a total of 17 physician-scientists have been produced. Those who completed the full-time doctoral program plan to continue convergent research through various career paths such as basic medical faculty, domestic and international postdoctoral researchers, and startups.

Eun Seong-ho, Director of Advanced Medical Support at the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "I was amazed by the young physician-scientists' determination and efforts toward research," adding, "We will do our best to seek policy and institutional support measures to create a research ecosystem, including guaranteeing research time and supporting research infrastructure, so that their research dreams can be infinitely realized."