<p>A lot of NIH funding is now going for what they call translational research. This is a collaborative effort where an MD works with a PhD. The reason this is now the focus is that MDs tend to be high in clinical significance and low in laboratory technique while PhDs tend to be the opposite. One reason not to think that combining the degrees would solve the problem is that there only 24 hours in a day. It would be difficult devote the time to be a good surgeon and still have time to be a great laboratory director.</p>