The Future of Medicine Depends on Physician-Scientists.

Physician-scientists are essential to advancing modern medicine. Yet a shortage of doctors with research training threatens the scientific progress that pushes medicine forward.

Our Mission

The mission of the Physician-Scientist Support Foundation (PSSF) is to build a sustainable and diverse physician-scientist workforce by developing leaders who will make fundamental discoveries that improve human health.

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz reviews a graph with a female medical student.

PSSF Announcements:

April 2021

The Journal of Clinical Investigation featured Dr. Robert Lefkowitz in their Conversations with Giants in Medicine series. Watch

February 2021

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz's new book, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Stockholm, was released on February 2, 2021. Order

December 2020

Dr. Robert Lefkowitz was featured on Alan Alda & Kate Rope's Podcast Soldiers of Science. Check out the Good Morning America Promo here!

The Impact of Physician-Scientists:

Human Health:

Scientific insights provided by physician-scientists – including statins, targeted cancer therapies, HIV protease inhibitors, among countless others – have provided the basis for hundreds of FDA-approved medications.

Leadership:

Seven out of 10 NIH institute directors and chief scientific officers at top-ten pharmaceutical companies hold MDs. Physician-scientists account for 37 percent of Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine and many Nobel Prizes in Chemistry.

The Challenge:

In the past three decades, the proportion of physicians engaged in research has declined to approximately 1.5 percent of the overall physician workforce. Read more here about how the PSSF seeks to address the challenge of increasing and supporting the physician-scientist pipeline.

Contact Us:

(p) 301-493-4750

(e) pssf@thepssf.org