Since beginning his studies in biomedical sciences and neuroscience, Abdelrahman AlOkda, MSc, has worked towards one goal: ensuring his research has a concrete impact on people鈥檚 lives.听听
鈥淲e produce a lot of results in basic science labs, but many of these findings have no translation to real life,鈥� the PhD student at McGill explains.听听
AlOkda, whose interests lie in developing interventions that promote healthy aging, then discovered a pathway to gaining the translational skills needed to achieve his aim: the听Graduate Certificate in Translational Biomedical Science Research, offered by the Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics within the School of Biomedical Sciences (SBMS).听听
Designed for current McGill graduate students in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, the program provides medical-style coursework, discussion-based classes with practicing clinicians and coursework that prepares students to design research projects with tangible clinical applications.听听听
It was exactly the kind of experience that AlOkda had been looking for. He applied to be part of the first cohort, a group of 10 students who graduated earlier this year.听听
鈥淭he program was really invaluable, because it gave real-world context to our research,鈥� he says. 鈥淯nderstanding clinicians鈥� perspectives and the challenges they faced helped us, as students, tailor our research questions and approaches to be more clinically relevant.鈥澨�
Connecting with clinicians听
The graduate certificate was听听by Terry H茅bert, PhD, Assistant Dean, Biomedical Science Education, and a group of students who were passionate about translational science.听听
Prof. H茅bert recalls his own experience of learning about disease through an 鈥渋dealized鈥� lens in textbooks, which depicted patients as usually having only one health condition. By bringing in clinicians who can contextualize disease in the real world 鈥� where patients frequently have multiple conditions 鈥� the graduate certificate helps improve students鈥� understanding of clinical needs, he says.听听
鈥淕etting to think about disease the way that clinicians do was eye-opening for the first cohort,鈥� he adds. 鈥淚t changes the way you frame out your next set of experiments. It changes the way you approach a problem when you鈥檙e coming up with a solution for a medical condition.鈥澨�
Finding clinicians who had time to give a class on their specialty seemed daunting at first. But Prof. H茅bert found the response from medical doctors was one of excitement.听听听
鈥淓veryone understood that this program fulfilled a deeply unmet curricular need by getting graduate students to think about problems in the way that health professionals think about them,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 could see that my clinical colleagues, who are used to thinking about the translational aspects of medicine, were really looking for this audience.鈥澨�
Over the year-and-a-half long program, the cohort took lectures and tutorials in several medical specialties, where clinicians presented case studies and took questions from students about their work.听听
Sonya Hui, MD, a cardiology resident, taught in the cardiovascular block of the program 鈥� partly because she had previously completed a PhD in translational research.听
鈥淚 remember what it was like to be in that position,鈥� she says of the cohort. 鈥淢any of the students stayed late to ask me more questions and for career advice, since I had gone to graduate school before medical school.鈥澨�
Peter Zylbergold, MDCM, MSc, a family physician based at St. Mary鈥檚 Hospital, presented anonymized cases from his work that covered a wide range of topic including cardiovascular health, mental health, care of the elderly, women鈥檚 health and the opioid crisis.听听
鈥淭he students were really engaged the whole time, he said. 鈥淭hey asked really good questions and put me on the spot in some ways.鈥澨�
鈥淚 left with a good feeling inside, having done something different and perhaps shown the non-medical world a little bit of what we deal with on a daily basis.鈥澨�
For AlOkda, the chance to have discussions, informal conversations and networking opportunities with clinicians was 鈥渏ust amazing鈥�.听听
鈥淭his interdisciplinary approach really helped in understanding the practical challenges and opportunities that are associated with bringing all these scientific discoveries to the clinic,鈥� he says.听
Learning from each other听
While Prof. H茅bert led the rollout of the program, two of the learners who initially pitched it 鈥� PhD students Vivienne Smith and Charlotte Ouimet, MSc 鈥� helped out by auditing classes and organizing extracurricular activities.听
At the career seminars, social events and networking trip to Harvard University they organized for the group, Smith and Ouimet observed the unique sense of community that the program helped to build among its students.听听
听鈥淪tudents told us that in grad school, you don鈥檛 really have a cohort. So, they really appreciated being with like-minded people who had unique experiences and who they could learn with and from,鈥� says Ouimet.听听
Smith adds that the diversity of STEM fields represented in the cohort created a rich peer-learning environment for the students, one that could not easily be found in their own department where their peers normally had similar backgrounds or perspectives to them.听
鈥淭here were people in biology, neuroscience, chemistry 鈥� all these different areas. That is really the heart of the program,鈥� she adds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just learning, mentorship or shadowing 鈥� it鈥檚 also the extracurricular career development from being immersed in a community of peer translational scientists that really lends itself well to the program.鈥澨�
For AlOkda, highlights included a visit to the Steinberg Centre for Simulation and Interactive Learning (SCSIL) and an assignment that involved developing a translational research proposal.听听
鈥淲e needed to identify a clinical need, design a research strategy, and consider the regulatory and commercial aspects of our project,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淚t was then that I truly appreciated the complexity and importance of each step in the translational pipeline. There鈥檚 no point in finding a compound or drug that can be translated if you cannot advertise it and ensure it reaches the people who need it, or if it鈥檚 not going to be funded.鈥澨�
Looking ahead to the next cohort 鈥� and beyond听
After a successful run for the first cohort, applications are currently open for Winter 2025. However, Prof. H茅bert has long-term plans for the graduate certificate鈥檚 future, including shaping it into a flagship program for the SBMS and seeking donor support for its growth.听听
鈥淪tudents are going into a complicated scientific environment that requires them to think about the problems that patients have now, rather than about the pure, intellectual problem of studying a disease as a basic scientist,鈥� he says, adding that the program helps break silos early on in their careers.听听
As he continues his PhD, AlOkda feels better equipped than ever to fulfil his dream of making a difference.听听
听鈥淢y experience in this program has reinforced my desire to work at the intersection of research and clinical practice. I really hope that my work will have a tangible impact on patients,鈥� he says.听
听鈥淎lthough I鈥檓 not sure where I鈥檇 like to be yet, I know I want to have my research translated. I want to accelerate the translation of discoveries from bench to bedside 鈥� and back again.鈥澨�
Students can apply for Winter 2025 cohort of the Graduate Certificate in Translational Biomedical Science Research until November 15, 2024.听Learn more and apply.听听
Doctors, professors or prospective donors interested in being involved in the program can contact Prof. H茅bert directly at听terence.hebert [at] mcgill.ca.听听听
Photo caption from left to right: Abdelrahman AlOkda, Terry H茅bert, Charlotte Ouimet, Vivienne Smith
