Introducing the New M-TRAM Program

The Stanford Master's of Science in Translational Research and Applied Medicine program will begin in September.


A TRAM scholar hard at work.

We are excited to announce the launch of the new Stanford Master's of Science in Translational Research and Applied Medicine (M-TRAM) that will start September 2022.  This new graduate program will provide formalized training in translational medicine sciences from basic science through clinical investigation. The program will focus on the development of novel therapies designed to help patients, including drug therapeutics, molecular diagnostics, immunotherapies, gene therapies, cell therapies, vaccines, and medical devices.  

As M-TRAM Director Dean Felsher, MD, PhD, professor of oncology and pathology explains, “We’ve envisioned an innovative graduate program that will enable anyone from the recent college graduate to current medical and/or business professionals (including current students, house staff, and fellows) to get training in emerging methods to actualize their dreams of contributing to the revolution in biomedical innovation through the development of new therapeutics, diagnostics, and technologies.”  

M-TRAM will provide an unmet need in our community and take advantage of the world-class basic and translational medical research, bioengineering, and medical technology available at Stanford. The program will combine rigorous didactics with hands-on clinical science and laboratory experiences. The program will consist of 46 total units over 4 quarters of core curriculum coursework, clinical and research rotations, industry internship, and a faculty-mentored capstone research project.  

The overarching goal of M-TRAM is to train individuals for careers in medical translation in academia and industry. The program is intended for both internal (Stanford) and external candidates from diverse backgrounds and experiences, including recent college graduates, medical students, clinical and research fellows, academic research staff, as well as professionals from biotech/biopharma. The first cohort of internal Stanford candidates will begin instruction in the Fall of 2022 and graduate in the summer of 2023. The subsequent cohorts will include both internal and external candidates that will begin in the Fall of 2023.  

M-TRAM will be directed by Felsher and co-directed by Joanna Liliental, PhD, senior research scientist and Associate Director of the TRAM Program, and George F. Tidmarsh, MD PhD, adjunct professor of pediatrics and board member of the Lucille Packard Foundation for Children's Health. Felsher is internationally regarded for his basic and translational medical research in oncology, therapeutics, and diagnostics and is the Founding Director of the TRAM Program. Liliental is the Founding Director of the Translational Applications Service Center (TASC), a Stanford Medicine resource center that provides shared access to clinical research technologies, and trains and mentors investigators in translational medicine projects. She is the Associate Director of TRAM, a program she has built together with Felsher, and has mentored and trained over 500 students, fellows, and faculty. Tidmarsh, who has been involved with the department of pediatrics for over 30 years, successfully pioneered the development of multiple therapeutic agents from discovery through to full regulatory approval including DOXIL for the treatment of solid tumors, BEXXAR for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and GIAPREZA for refractory shock, among others.  

To learn more about the Master's of Science in Translational Research and Applied Medicine (M-TRAM), please contact Dean Felsher (dfelsher@stanford.edu), Joanna Liliental (jlili@stanford.edu), or George Tidmarsh (tidmarsh@stanford.edu). And visit the TRAM website.