Physicians engaged in research represent the promise of a better future—more effective treatments, better strategies for diagnosis and prevention, and long sought-after cures. Driven by curiosity,
physician-scientists take observations from the clinical setting, infuse their current understanding of biology and medicine, and seek to address the most important unanswered questions in  biomedical science. Although the physician-scientist model can be traced back at least to Ancient Greece, the advent of molecular biology in the mid-20th century enabled generations of curious physicians to focus on understanding the molecular pathways that govern pathophysiology and human disease.These individuals ran basic science laboratories and secured National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants to support their experiments and their salaries—a paradigm that became synonymous with the modern physician-scientist. Based on this paradigm, data on the demographics of NIH-funded investigators have raised national concerns about dwindling numbers of physician-scientists, driving discussion about policy changes to revitalize this workforce.1-3