History 

The MSTP was established at Washington University in 1969 and has been very successful in training individuals as physician-scientists. Through May 2021, the program has graduated 706 physician-scientists. More than eighty percent of program graduates are engaged in academic medicine, hold positions at the NIH, or are employed in the pharmaceutical/biotechnology industry.

Since 1970, the program has been funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The program currently holds the largest predoctoral training grant in the country, evidence of the great esteem held by the NIH for the excellence of the training program. The program is also supported by an endowment established by the Olin Foundation in 1986.

The MSTP was founded by Dr. P. Roy Vagelos, and has had a succession of outstanding leaders, most of whom were physician-scientists.  The current director, Dr. Wayne Yokoyama, is a practicing rheumatologist and a member of the National Academy of Sciences.