About the Program

Training a diverse group of outstanding students to become future leaders of academic medicine and medical research has been our goal since 1977.

The Iowa Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the University of Iowa is among of the nation’s oldest. From the start, our goal has been to train a diverse group of outstanding students to become future leaders of academic medicine and medical research. Continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1977, the Iowa MSTP has 254 alumni with careers spanning the spectrum from basic science research to clinical medicine and many variations in between.

30+

Current students

250+

MSTP Alumni

35+

Faculty mentors

15+

Associated Faculty Programs

The Program

When you join the Iowa MSTP, you are joining an engaging and supportive environment where you can reach your maximum potential. That’s because our program has been designed around this one goal: to develop the best academic medicine researchers.

Student success within the Iowa MSTP is achieved due to our:

Integrated Community: The Iowa MSTP has designed a blended curriculum to integrate training in biomedical research with the values, knowledge and art of clinical medicine at all stages of training. Within our integrative training program environment, we focus on advising individual trainees during transitions between the clinical phase and graduate phase of training.
Active Community: Integration in the Iowa MSTP is achieved through innovative enrichment activities, such as: MSTP Mondays, MSTP Grand Rounds, Conversations in Research, Clinical Connections, and Creative Communications Workshop. These activities capitalize on our dynamic faculty mentors and rotation faculty, encourage innovation and teamwork, facilitate career development, and continually emphasize connections between science and medicine.
Financial Support: Our MSTP trainees receive a competitive stipend and full tuition support during their entire training.
Support At Every Step: The Iowa MSTP fosters a strong academic and social community within the college. While large enough to be an independent academic unit, the program is still small enough to provide students with the individual attention their unique careers require.

Administration - A guiding hand

The MSTP administration takes take personal responsibility for student affairs. They meet regularly with students, individually, or in large and small groups to build relationships and monitor student morale. They review student records, including class performance, research productivity and achievement of training milestones and progress towards career goals. This team meets weekly to discuss the issues of concern in the MSTP at the moment. Any student needing additional support from the MSTP or another entity is discussed and appropriate interventions discussed.

Over the past century and a half, the University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine has earned its standing among the most esteemed medical schools in the nation. Track its progress through the years.