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Penn State College of Medicine MD/PhD Program holds fall retreat

Patrick Drew speaking behind a lectern; to his left is a screen with a slide titled "Big lessons (for MD/PhD students)" and three items: "Use your unfair advantage, work across systems and disciplines; Just because a system is complicated doesn't mean that you should not try to be reductionistic; Don't be afraid to change research directions if the right opportunity presents itself."

Patrick Drew, PhD, Associate Director of the Neuroscience Institute at Penn State, presents during the MD/PhD program’s fall retreat in September 2022.

The MD/PhD program at Penn State College of Medicine held a retreat Sept. 17 and 18 at the Hershey Hotel in Hershey.

MD/PhD retreat committee members Daniel Goetschius, Rahul Nachnani, Rhea Sullivan and Michael Wenke planned and executed the event, which featured research and career-minded talks from:

  • Patrick Drew, PhD, Associate Director of the Neuroscience Institute; Huck Distinguished Associate Professor of Neural Engineering and Neurosurgery at Penn State
  • Francis LeBlanc, MD, PhD, class of 2016/2018, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology clinical fellow at the Cancer and Blood Diseases Institute at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
  • Talia Swartz, MD, PhD, MSTP Director, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Four people are pictured sitting at a round table; second from left, Kirsteen Browning holds a coffee cup while listening to the student on her right.

Kirsteen Browning, Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences at Penn State College of Medicine, second from left, talks with students.

“It was terrific to be back together in person after more than two years of holding this event virtually,” said Robert Levenson, PhD, MD/PhD program co-director. “Our trainees have demonstrated grit and resiliency throughout their training and we are so proud of everything they’re accomplishing in lab, clinic and beyond into the community.”

The retreat’s theme was “Reuniting and Embracing Growth Together.”

Attendees participated in a poster session as well as light-hearted vertical integration activities including a scavenger hunt.

The MD/PhD program at Penn State College of Medicine recruits highly qualified students interested in pursuing a career as a physician scientist.

All photos were taken by MD/PhD student Spencer Katz.

Learn more about the MD/PhD program at Penn State College of Medicine

Additional photos from the retreat

A large group of people pose for a photo outside a building

A group photo from the MD/PhD program’s fall retreat in September 2022.

A screen at the front of a room shows Talia Swartz speaking with the backs of attendees in the foreground as they watch.

Talia Swartz MSTP Director and Assistant Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, speaks via video conferencing to the retreat.

Raymond Hohl, sitting in a chair, gestures with his left hand and holds a microphone in his right hand as he talks.

Raymond Hohl, director of Penn State Cancer Institute and University Professor of Oncology at Penn State, asks a question during the fall retreat.

Maryknoll Linscott gestures toward a poster as Kristen Manto looks on.

MD/PhD students Kristen Manto, left, and Maryknoll Linscott look at a poster during the program’s fall retreat.

Fall retreat attendees talk or line up in various groups in a hotel ballroom to look at poster presentations.

MD/PhD fall retreat attendees check out the poster session.

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