Student Outcomes
Our physician scientist graduates go on to careers in academia, industry and government. You can find them in private practice, on the faculty of prestigious universities, consulting for leading biomedical companies, and working for government agencies. We are excited to share alumni testimonials to showcase the benefits of a Rowan-Virtua TBES (formerly RowanGSBS) education!
Rahil Kheirkhah, DO/PhD Program
RowanGSBS, 2020 (PhD)
RowanSOM, 2022 (DO)
Excerpt from Rowan Today
“It was probably the best decision I’ve made in my seven years at Rowan,” she said. “Working with [Dr. Robert Nagele's lab] gave me a chance to not only grow professionally, but also grow personally.”
In Nagele’s program, she learned to perform and analyze research and refine her abilities to take a critical approach to problem-solving. She also assumed leadership roles on projects. “It taught me to feel comfortable about questioning the material that I’m taught, looking for answers and where the answers are coming from, and approaching situations in a very scientific way.”
“It made me more confident that when I am practicing medicine, I’ll be learning skills and reading information that is scientifically sound and making decisions that are objectively beneficial for my patients,” she said.
Nagele’s guidance was invaluable, according to Kheirkhah. “He taught me not to shrink away from a challenge and, more importantly, to become comfortable making big decisions and standing behind them,” she said. “He was an incredible mentor to have, and I feel very grateful to have been able to work with him.”
"I look back on my time [at RowanGSBS] with such fondness, and know that my successes today as a physician scientist are readily credited to the roots firmly planted and generously watered in the GSBS."
-
Eric Goldwaser, DO/PhD Program
RowanGSBS, 2016 (PhD)
RowanSOM, 2018 (DO)I entered medical school in 2011 with the intention on continuing to pursue my interest in research I developed as an undergraduate. I quickly found myself volunteering time to hone my skills in molecular genetics, and I felt that my interest in research grew into a passion that I wanted to continue harnessing in a more clinically apparent and translational way.
After entering the Ph.D. portion of the D.O./Ph.D., I joined Dr. Nagele's lab and began a project that would eventually form the seeds for my pursuits as a physician scientist now nearly a decade later. In that time, with his mentorship and the guidance from my committee, colleagues, labmates, and professors, I was able to grow as a student and a researcher.
I was selected among 15 M.D., Ph.D. candidates for the sole spot at University of Maryland / Sheppard Pratt's psychiatry residency, physician-scientist training program, which afforded me protected time and four years of funding for a serious research project and path towards an NIH K-award, and ultimately, as an independent investigator.
It would be easy to talk about the ways in which my time in the D.O./Ph.D. program had bettered my application and options for residency, but I find it equally important to highlight the other aspects of my experience on a more personal level. Unapologetically I say that my favorite time in med school was my time in the lab, but that is truly the case in large part because of the people there, in addition to the satisfaction from the work itself. Partnerships and collegiality went hand in hand with friendship and in many cases has continued to this day. I look back on my time with such fondness, and know that my successes today as a physician scientist are readily credited to the roots firmly planted and generously watered in the GSBS.