Inclusion of medical students in the next generation of clinician scientist training programs

Abstract

We appreciate the insights provided by Melk et al. in their Comment¹ in Nature Medicine. The authors effectively highlight the importance of structured programs in preparing clinician scientists to bridge the gap between clinical practice and research. However, we would like to emphasize the critical role of medical students in this ecosystem and the need for greater accessibility and support at the undergraduate level.

We agree with Melk et al. that career counseling, mentoring and protected research time are fundamental elements of successful clinician scientist programs. However, these opportunities are largely inaccessible to medical students, who are at the very beginning of their professional journeys. Therefore, we suggest extending these structured programs to the undergraduate level, providing early exposure to research and the necessary support systems to cultivate future clinician scientists.