Opportunity to work with MyCode a major draw for this Abigail Geisinger Scholar

Tyler Schubert had an ideal medical school application — a degree from Franklin and Marshall College, experience working in a hospital and exceptional research credentials from labs at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Washington University in St. Louis. So, when he went looking for a medical school, he had options. He chose Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine for two reasons.

“The Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program was the No. 1 thing that attracted me to Geisinger. I like that the health system is serious about solving the physician maldistribution problem. But MyCode was the second reason,” Mr. Schubert said, referring to the system’s MyCode Community Health Initiative.

Now accepted to both the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program and the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine’s Medical Research Honors Program, Mr. Schubert is working on a National Institute of Health–funded study on familial hypercholesterolemia. The genetic condition affects one in 250 people and can cause early onset of coronary artery disease if not sufficiently treated.

Laney Jones, PharmD, MPH, is co-principal investigator for the study. She said she’s happy to have Mr. Schubert working on the project, helping the implementation science team analyze and synthesize qualitative data from clinician interviews and direct observations. “From our talks, I know Tyler really wants to do medpeds and incorporate genomics into his practice. Geisinger is one of the best places to do this kind of work. And because he is an Abigail Geisinger Scholar, our study directly relates to the work he’ll do,” she said. “He’s making great connections here and learning how we use genomics right in the electronic health record. It all seems like a perfect fit.”

Schubert and Jones