Throughout history, physicians have played a vital role in medical discovery. These physician-scientists devote the majority of their professional effort to seeking new knowledge about health and disease through research and represent the entire continuum of biomedical investigation. They bring a unique perspective to their work and often base their scientific questions on the experience of caring for patients. Physician-scientists also effectively communicate between researchers in the "pure sciences" and practicing health care providers. Yet there has been growing concern in recent decades that, due to complex changes, physician-scientists are vanishing from the scene. In this book, leading physician-scientists and academic physicians examine the problem from a variety of perspectives: historical, demographic, scientific, cultural, sociological, and economic. They make valuable recommendations that--if heeded--should preserve and revitalize the community of physician-scientists as the profession continues to evolve and boundaries between doctors and researchers shift.
Contributors
James M. Anderson, MD, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine
Ann J. Brown, MD, MHS, Duke University School of Medicine
Barry S. Coller, MD, Rockefeller University
Fabio Cominelli, MD, PhD, Case Western University
Paul E. DiCorleto, PhD, Cleveland Clinic and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Mark Donowitz, MD, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Stephen G. Emerson, MD, PhD, Haverford College
Gregory Germino, MD, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Stephen J. Heinig, Association of American Medical Colleges
Margaret K. Hostetter, MD, Yale University School of Medicine
Reshma Jagsi, MD, DPhil, University of Michigan Medical School
Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, MACP, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine
David Korn, MD, Harvard University and Harvard Medical School
Timothy J. Ley, MD, Washington University School of Medicine
Philip M. Meneely, PhD, Haverford College
David G. Nathan, MD, Harvard Medical School
Philip A. Pizzo, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine
Jennifer Punt, VMD, PhD, Haverford College
Andrew I. Schafer, MD, Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian Hospital
Alan L. Schwartz, MD, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine
Roy L. Silverstein, MD, Cleveland Clinic
Nancy J. Tarbell, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School