By David Jacobson
Note: The Masters in Translational Medicine educational program was launched with support from CTSI.
Two years after launching as a pilot effort, an innovative graduate curriculum in translational medicine jointly offered by UCSF and UC Berkeley has received final approval from University of California President Mark Yudof as a master’s degree program.
Until now, the joint effort had been granting Master of Science degrees in bioengineering “with coursework and project emphasis on translational medicine.” The program is run by the UC Berkeley Department of Bioengineering and the UCSF Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences (BTS), itself a joint department of the UCSF Schools of Pharmacy and Medicine.
“It was a way to test out the curriculum and get the program in place so we could actually do it when it was approved,” says Tejal Desai, PhD, UCSF BTS faculty member and vice chair for education, who co-directs the program along with Song Li, PhD, UC Berkeley bioengineering faculty member.
The translational medicine program trains students from varied backgrounds—basic scientists, clinicians, and engineers—to bring innovative treatments, ranging from drug delivery or imaging technologies to new medical devices or pharmaceuticals, into clinical use.
The approved Master of Translational Medicine (MTM) program will become a professional degree program akin to the well-known Master of Business Administration (MBA), with somewhat more emphasis on professional development, business, and leadership than the Master of Science program.
Read more at Pharmacy.ucsf.edu
Related info: http://ctsi.ucsf.edu/our-work/master-translational-medicine-mtm-program