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Training physician-scientists, a view from inside

Nature Medicine volume 31, pages 2473–2474 (2025)Cite this article

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Physician-scientists are essential for translating research into clinical practice, yet recent US policy changes, combined with a protracted training path, threaten the stability of the current workforce and the ability to train their successors. As physician-scientist trainees (C.Y.T. and A.D.W.) and a director of physician-scientist training (L.F.B.), we have seen the US investment in biomedical research rapidly shift from a shared public value to a source of division. Cuts to research funding risk stalling breakthrough discoveries, and the suspension of pipeline training programs raises barriers to entry1,2,3,4. In less than 6 weeks, over US$1.8 billion of National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding was terminated, and 20% of these grants were for training, fellowship, and career development awards5. Without urgent intervention, these abrupt policy shifts will compromise medical advances, drive away talented individuals, and move medical discoveries, new drug identification, and therapeutic advances overseas. Here, we examine barriers across the training continuum, concluding with a call to action.

Historically, federal funding supported crucial entry points for prospective physician-scientists. Competitive programs such as the NIH Summer Internship Program and the National Science Foundation (NSF) Research Experiences for Undergraduates offered early research exposure and mentorship. Suspending these programs disproportionately affects those who rely on structured pathways to enter physician-scientist training, weakening efforts to cultivate a biomedical workforce with diverse perspectives.

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Acknowledgements

The expressed views are of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the positions of the University of North Carolina, Emory University, or the University of Pennsylvania.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Cynthia Y. Tang

  2. Emory University Medical Scientist Training Program, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Alex D. Waldman

  3. Department of Medicine and the Medical Scientist Training Program, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Lawrence F. Brass

Authors
  1. Cynthia Y. Tang
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  2. Alex D. Waldman
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  3. Lawrence F. Brass
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Correspondence to Cynthia Y. Tang.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Tang, C.Y., Waldman, A.D. & Brass, L.F. Training physician-scientists, a view from inside. Nat Med 31, 2473–2474 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-025-03786-5

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