Every year, millions of Canadians will experience a serious neurological issue, from brain injuries to mental health disorders to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s — and these numbers are rising. The need for doctors with bench-to-bedside training and experience in brain health has never been greater.

Enter the Faculty of Medicine’s MD/PhD program. Launched in 1996, the highly interdisciplinary joint-degree program provides learners with the opportunity to combine their passion for clinical, patient-centered medicine with intensive scientific training in neurology, neuroscience and other areas of medicine.

From advancing our understanding of Huntington’s disease and dementia to developing new methods for image-guided brain surgery, these emerging clinician-scientists are making important, patient-focused research discoveries while also bringing their expertise into clinical care. They are helping to develop better prevention tools, more innovative treatments, and more responsive care.

Recently, we spoke to neurology resident-postdoctoral fellow Dr. Andrea Jones and MD/PhD students Christopher Lee and Elizabeth Gregory about the program’s unique approach, their research and the benefits for patients in B.C. and beyond.

Tell us about your research.

Christopher Lee (CL): My focus is on Alzheimer’s disease and its connection to the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene, which is a major protein involved in transporting and metabolizing fats. There are three variants of the APOE gene — e2, e3, and e4 — and you can inherit a combination of any two of these from your parents.

We know that people who inherit one or two copies of the APOE e4 gene have a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s, and APOE e2 lower, but we aren’t sure why. I’m modeling the disease using stem cells in 3D neurospheres so that we can understand the genetic risks and cellular pathways that lead to the disease.

Elizabeth Gregory (EG): Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique used to treat major depressive disorder. It works by placing a magnetic coil over an area of the head and sending magnetic pulses to stimulate nerve cells in the brain to improve mood. Using neuroimaging, my research focuses on personalizing the treatment based on the coil’s placement and the changes we see in the brain activity. In this way, we think we can make it even more effective.

Dr. Andrea Jones (AJ): My focus is urban neurology and the social determinants of brain health outcomes for marginalized communities. By looking at big data, we know that factors like housing, income and food security are all important. The goal of my research is to identify which social interventions provide the highest yields in terms of preventing illness and providing faster recoveries for brain injuries like stroke.

What impact do you see your research having on patients?

CL: With Alzheimer’s disease, you slowly lose yourself and the people you love. I can’t imagine anything worse. The long-term goal of my research is to learn more about APOE and how Alzheimer’s functions so that we can use those findings to help develop more effective drugs to treat the disease and give people their lives back. 

“The advantage of the MD/PhD is that you train as a clinician on the MD side of the program, working directly with patients in the healthcare system, then you take those experiences and insights into your PhD research.”

– Elizabeth Gregory, MD/PhD student

AJ: The rise in benzodiazepines in the illicit drug supply in B.C. is related to neurological conditions such as seizures, so it’s important for physicians to understand the epidemiology and pharmacological effects of these drugs on the brain. At a seminar earlier this year for neurologists and physicians from across the province, I shared the latest research on the neurological complications from contaminants in the illicit drug supply. This helped to increase recognition of these issues to provide better care.

What are the unique benefits of the MD/PhD program?

EG:  Translational medicine is incredibly important. The advantage of the MD/PhD is that you train as a clinician on the MD side of the program, working directly with patients in the healthcare system, then you take those experiences and insights into the PhD side of the program. As a researcher, you’re thinking very concretely about how your work can inform clinical practice — and vice-versa.

AJ: Being a clinician-scientist is different from being a clinician or a scientist. We play a unique role in bridging the two worlds. We are trained to bring research questions to the clinical world and vice-versa — we also bring clinical questions to the research world in a really effective, patient-centered way.

CL: The MD/PhD gives you all the tools you need to succeed as a clinician-scientist. Canada needs more people with this skillset, especially as institutions like UBC work to accelerate the translation of research discoveries into treatments that benefit patients directly.

What are your future plans?

CL: My plan is to become a clinician-scientist in neurology so that I can continue helping people from the bench and the bedside. I love learning and being a part of this world by improving people’s lives.

EG: My vision is to pursue a residency program that offers protected time for research, like a clinician investigator program or research track residency so that I can continue training in both fields. Beyond that, I look forward to one day developing my own research program as a full-fledged clinician scientist.

AJ: After my joint residency and postdoctoral training, I will continue providing evidence-based care as a clinician-scientist in neurology. I’m also passionate about teaching and look forward to providing the same excellence in teaching and mentoring that I’ve received at UBC.