<p>Does it matter very much the title of the person who writes your letter for MD-PhD programs? I'm currently deciding to do research between a nobel prize laureate and a new instructor who is an MD-PhD herself. Will the committee put more value on letters from highly established professors? Both PIs are at a prestigious university.</p>
<p>Bump please. Advice would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>Believe it or not, but the content of the letter matters much more than the name on it. Who is going to write the better letter? Do you know one more than the other?</p>
<p>Will you actually get to interact with the nobel laureate and how big is the lab? Will both labs offer you the opportunity to have your own project or is one lab much bigger and you’re likely to be just helping a post-doc? As mmmcdowe is saying, the content matters more than the person, so the young faculty member saying you were critical to the lab’s productivity for the last year, that they’re sad to see you leave, and that you are brilliant will be way better than the nobel laureate saying you did a good job without being able to discuss in detail what your role was.</p>
<p>With regard to whether the person is an MD, a PhD, or an MD/PhD, it makes zero difference.</p>
<p>I guess with all things equal, how much better is the letter from the nobel laureate compared to the new scientist? I think both labs can provide me with good experience since the project will really depend on how aggressive I am. Also, will the fact that the new scientist is also a physician who will take me on clinical runs and introduce me to other physicians help me with an MD/PhD? Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>bump…</p>
<p>Many new investigators do not survive the prestigeous institute. Most Nobel laureates do not do much after the prize. Both are bad.</p>
<p>ALL things being equal, of course the nobel laureate is better. A nobel laureate saying you are the smartest student he has even seen will hold more weight than a brand new faculty member saying the same thing.</p>
<p>Yes, you need to have clinical exposure in order to get into an MD/PhD (you need everything a med student needs and then some).</p>