Become a University of Florida Physician-Scientist!
The University of Florida’s MD-PhD Community
The University of Florida’s MD-PhD community comprises a diverse group of trainees, administrators and faculty, all focused on applying the latest advances in learning and research to training each cohort of future physician-scientists. We welcome applications to join the program from US citizens and permanent residents, and we make special efforts to recruit under-represented individuals in biomedical sciences, especially Black and Hispanic students, those with disabilities and/or those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Current MD-PhD fellows are heavily involved in the administration of the program and in the selection and recruitment of future students.
Learn about how we support our MD-PhD Students
The University of Florida has committed to the full support of 8 MD-PhD students each new year, beginning in 2019, for the entire 8-year period of their physician-scientist training. While the method of support (NIH training or research grant, institutional funds) may vary, these forms of support will be available to all MD-PhD students:
- Stipend & Tuition
- Health insurance
- Student Fees
- Travel Funds
Meet our newest (MS-1) Trainees!
Caitland Love
Interested in strokes, neurogenetics and epigenetic inheritance.
Chadwin Hanna, Jr.
Interested in neurogeneration, neuronal repair, and TBI/neurodegenerative therapeutics.
Delaney Ding
Interested in clinical outcomes, epidemiology, health services research, global and public health, mixed methods and community-based research.
Jeff Arni Valisno
Interested in neurodegenerative diseases and novel therapeutics.
Jessica Eileen Molina
Interested in pathological mineral formations in cardiovascular tissue.
Karla Ganley
Interested in epidemiology, ethnography, social determinants of health and health disparities, and maternal health care.
Miranda Reid
Interested in implementation science, health services research, quality improvement and value-based care.
Stephen Michel
Interested in oncology, nanotechnology, and biomaterials engineering.
Trey Dalton
Interested in MDS, autoimmunity, inflammation, and RNA splicing pathways.
Meet our MS-2 Trainees
Alex Adolphson
Interested in adeno-associated virus vectors’ use in gene delivery, cellular engineering, and CAFR T-cell therapy for various cancers.
Anna Fusco
Interested in neural control of breathing in spinal cord injury and neuromuscular disorders.
Caretia Washington
Interested in infectious diseases, injury and violence prevention, and health disparitites.
Jack Figg
Interested in stem cell biology, functional genomics, and RNA biology.
Julian Mark
Interested in Type 1 Diabetes and neuroinflammation.
Maegan Cremer
Interested in biological interfaces, electrophysiology, and structure-function relationships.
Scott Cohen
Interested in microbiology and cell science, and nutritional sciences.
Stephan Quintin
Interested in biomedical sciences.
Learn about the transition to Graduate School (GS)
The Directorate works closely with mentors to make sure that trainees reach milestones in their Individual Development Plans during the PhD training.
Meet our GS-1 Trainees
Physiology and Functional Genomics
Aditya Mahadevan
anthropology
Chloe Warpinsky
Meet our GS-2 Trainees
Immunology and Microbiology
Amy Peiper
Interested in vaccine development and therapeutics.
one health
Katelyn Flaherty
Interested in prehospital care, pediatric nighttime care, and EMT education.
IMMUNOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY
Kelly Kirkpatrick
Interested in viral pathogenesis and molecular genetics, long non-coding RNAs, and miRNAs.
IMMUNOLOGY AND MICROBIOLOGY
Phillip Mackie
Learn about our Wellness Committee
A subcommittee of the MD-PhD Scholar Council, the Wellness Committee fosters trainee camaraderie using financial support from the Program Directorate. Members of the Wellness Committee focus on planning events and activities to foster peer support & long-lasting relationships between scholars.
Meet our GS-3 Trainees
Rehabilitation Science
Miles Cameron
Immunology & Microbiology
Connor Francis
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zak Krumm
Neuroscience
Binh Nguyen
Interested in neuroimaging, EEG concussions, and hoarding disorders.
Biomedical Engineering
Holly Ryan
Interested in regenerative medicine
Immunology & Microbiology
Puchong Thirawatananond
Interested in immunology and autoimmunity.
mathematics
Yara Skaf
Interested in computational biology, healthcare informatics, and topological data analysis.
Meet our GS-4 Trainees
Genetics
Ricky Ashby
Physiology & Pharmacology
Will Dodd
Interested in vascular physiology, oxidative stress and mechano transduction.
Genetics & Genomics
Dan Stribling
Interested in computational genomics, bioinformatics, MiRNA technology, and oncogenic virusus.
Immunology & Microbiology
Emily Helm
Meeet our GS-5 Trainees
anthropology
Rebecca Henderson
Neuroscience
Kartik Motwani
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Lindsey Palm-Vlasak
Interested in musculoskeletal biomechanics
Meet our GS-6 Trainees
Anthropology
Chu Jane Hsiao
Interested in the biological impacts of sociocultural experiences (racial discrimination, war trauma, sexual violence, etc.).
Genetics & Genomics
Leanne Dumeny
Interested in cardiovascular pharmacogenomics and precision medicine
Learn about the Transition back to Medical School
Clinical skills and clinical mentoring during PhD: Addressing the challenge of starting clinical training after several years of graduate school, Scholars may shadow physicians (Clinical Mentors) throughout the research training period, specifically increasing in frequency several weeks before beginning clinical clerkships. Trainees will have the opportunity to choose a primary Clinical Mentor for mentoring, as well as attend case presentations and patient rounds with other Clinical Mentors.
Reimmersion: A reimmersion program run by students and faculty will help enhance trainee skills (dexterity) and readiness (mental preparation, patient H&P, clinical presentations) to begin their clinical training.
Meet our MS-3 Trainees
John Butterfield, PhD
Yuxing Xia, PhD
Meet our MS-4 Trainees
Garrett Smith, PhD
Interested in neuroscience; I did my thesis on the transcriptomic changes associated with age-related cognitive decline.
Henrietta Fasanya, PhD
Interested in biology.
Kyle Dyson, PhD
Mat Sebastian, PhD
Interested in basic science and clinical immunology, immunotherapy, and vaccinology.
Robert Eisinger, PhD
Interested in neural engineering, brain machine interfaces, computational neuroscience, basal ganglia, and movement disorders.
Zack Sorrentino, PhD
Interested in physics and biochemistry.
Learn about Transitioning to Practice
The Directorate recognizes their responsibility to assure that the benefits of the training program are not lost during the two years required by the trainees to complete their MD. Scholars in late MS3 and MS4 years will meet with Dr. Zarrinpar to identify research-oriented postgraduate medical training. A number of Physician Scientists Training Programs (PSTP) have been identified.