Upstate awards four students with MD/PhD degrees at Commencement Sunday

Four Upstate Medical University students will receive both an MD and a PhD at Upstate's Commencement ceremony May 5.

Upstate’s MD/PhD program trains future physician-scientists by combining the practice of medicine in the clinic with biomedical research in the laboratory.

The work involved in achieving two doctorates can take almost a decade to complete depending on one’s circumstances.

Upstate’s MD/PhD recipients and their hometowns, degree-granting program, dissertation sponsor, undergraduate institution and residency information are listed below.

Jennifer Cheung, Oak Park, Mich.; Microbiology and Immunology; Gary Chan, PhD; Yale University.  Cheung will do a surgery residency at Mt. Sinai Hospital.

Michael Edward Garone, Croton-On-Hudson, N.Y.; Anatomy and Cell Biology; Mira Krendel, PhD; SUNY Geneseo. Garone will do a residency in internal medicine at the University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital.

Nicholas Hoai Van Nguyen, San Diego, Calif.; Neuroscience; Dr. Stephen Glatt, PhD; University of California San Diego. Nguyen will do a family medicine residency at Loma Linda University Medical Center.

Brandon Lee Wyman, Shirley, N.Y.; Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Andras Perl, MD, PhD; University at Buffalo. Wyman will do a residency in anesthesiology at Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital.

Caption: Receiving both an MD and PhD are, from left Jennifer Cheung, Michael Garone, Nicholas Nguyen and Brandon Wyman.