Deborah C. Rubin, M.D., has been named director of the Master of Arts and Doctor of Medicine Program (M.A./M.D.)
Larry J. Shapiro, M.D., executive vice chancellor for medical affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, recently announced Rubin’s appointment, effective Sept. 1.
The program provides one year of individual, full-time, in-depth research experience for medical students.
Participants take a year away from traditional medical school classes to work on basic biomedical research or hypothesis-driven clinical research in the lab of a faculty member.
Students completing the program graduate with a combined masters and medical degree.
Rubin, professor of medicine and of molecular biology and pharmacology, is not new to the M.A./M.D. Program, having served as a committee member for a decade.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with students in this new capacity,” Rubin said.
“The individualized nature of this program allows us to work closely with participants to help them identify their strengths in the lab and further the University’s commitment to translate what we learn in the lab to effective treatment for patients.”
Rubin’s responsibilities include meeting with program applicants and overseeing the process by which students are accepted and then matched with appropriate laboratories.
Rubin’s commitment to mentoring has been evident throughout her career at the University. For the past several years, she has invited qualified high-school and college students to work in her lab.
She was also involved in creating a mentor program when she served as the chair of the Committee on Women in Gastroenterology of the American Gastroenterological Association.
Rubin serves on several University committees. She is secretary of the executive committee to the Faculty Council and previously served as a clinical representative and is vice chair of the research advisory committee in the General Clinical Research Center.
Rubin is a sought-after lecturer, having traveled around the world to present her research. Her research interests include studying how the intestine adapts to loss of small-bowel function due to disorders such as Crohn’s disease or following surgical resection and gastrointestinal structure and function.
Daniel P. Kelly, M.D., who has served as director since 2001, remains on the faculty as the Alumni Endowed Professor of Medicine.
Kelly plans to devote more time to a directing a new translational research enterprise, which focuses on identifying better treatments for diabetic cardiovascular disease.