The American Board of Pathology (ABP) has recently approved a physician-scientist research pathway (PSRP) for pathologists in training. This new pathway was specifically created to increase the recruitment of new physician-scientists to our specialty. Other specialties, such as internal medicine, pediatrics, radiology/ radiation oncology, and dermatology, have formally Board approved research training pathways, and there was concern that without a Board sanctioned research training pathway, there would be a decline in such individuals training in pathology. Indeed, published data on specialty choices of MD-PhD graduates have suggested that such a decline may have already begun. Pathology is a unique discipline that is recognized as both a basic biomedical science and a clinical specialty, and it has therefore traditionally attracted energetic, intelligent physician-scientists, interested in studying disease mechanisms at the cellular, molecular, and genetic level. A survey done in 2014 by the Association of Pathology Chairs (APC) showed that 70 of 86 responding chairs favored the creation of a research training pathway. With this overwhelming mandate from the pathology chairs, the APC Research Committee diligently debated and ultimately designed a research training pathway and formed a coalition to work with the ABP to achieve this goal.
