Combined Pathology Residency and PhD
Combined Residency Training Program & PhD (NIH CBSTP)
Posting date: July 1, 2024 • In partnership with the NIH Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program
Trainees in the NIH Comparative Biomedical Scientist Training Program (CBSTP) spend their first three years of their program at the University of Pennsylvania. During this time, trainees receive advanced instruction with an emphasis on gross and microscopic pathology of case material, including autopsies on animals submitted from the veterinary hospitals (Philadelphia and New Bolton Center), laboratory animals from University research facilities, and surgical pathology specimens from our hospital and referring veterinary practitioners (with about 40-60 biopsies per day) as outlined for the Traditional three-year Residency Training Program. During the second and third year, trainees will be eligible to sit for phases I and II of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) certifying exam.
Concurrent with the residency training, CBSTP trainees will complete graduate coursework at the University of Pennsylvania and laboratory rotation(s) as required by their selected Biomedical Graduate Studies (BGS) graduate group.
The University of Pennsylvania portion of the training program culminates in the preliminary exam (a qualifying or candidacy exam), which trainees must complete before entering their chosen thesis laboratory at the NIH. Trainees will remain at the NIH until successful completion and defense of their thesis work, at which point the PhD degree will be conferred.
[Download the Combined Pathobiology Residency PhD image above as a PDF.]
Interested in Applying?
Applying to the Penn pathology residency and CBSTP concurrently
The application deadline is September 27, 2024.
The CBSTP application deadline for Fall 2024 has passed. We will accept applications for Fall 2025 October 1 through December 1, 2024.
Complete applications are required for full consideration. All materials must be emailed to the application coordinator, EJ Hunter (ejhunter@upenn.edu).
For questions about the residency program, please contact the residency directors, Dr. Molly Church (churchm@vet.upenn.edu) and Dr. Susan Bender (benders@vet.upenn.edu).