Brian Sullivan, AB, MA

Mr. Sullivan is a native of St. Louis.  He earned an AB in Political Science and an MA in Spanish from St. Louis University. His graduate work focused on the Argentinian writer Jose Luis Borges.  In 1983, Mr. Sullivan began working at Washington University as a glassware washer. Over the course of the next decade, he advanced through a variety of administrative roles, culminating in his appointment as the administrator of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MD-PhD) in 1993. As Executive Director, Mr. Sullivan oversaw all aspects of the program: recruiting, admissions, student affairs, programming, alumni, finance, grant administration, and relations with the AAMC and National Institutes of Health. During his tenure with the MSTP, Mr. Sullivan evaluated over 13,000 MD-PhD applicants, provided administrative support for nearly 900 MD-PhD trainees, and facilitated the production of 7 successful five-year NIH T32 grant applications. 

Mr. Sullivan has held leadership positions with the National Association of MD-PhD Programs, and was a founding member of the MD-PhD Section of the AAMC Graduate Research, Education, and Training Group,  He has served as on external advisory boards for MD-PhD programs at Northwestern University, St. Louis University, the University of California, San Francisco, the University of Michigan, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Pittsburgh. He has delivered talks on physician-scientist training and careers at various organizations (AAMC, ABRCMS, APSA, FASEB, NAAHP, NIH, SACNAS, and SNMA) and dozens of colleges and universities. 

When not at Washington University, Mr. Sullivan and his wife gut-rehabilitated a 120-year-old house across from Tower Grove Park, and raised 5 children, 2 dogs, 7 cats, and ~3.5 million honeybees. In retirement, Mr. Sullivan reads, hikes, travels, serves as a volunteer arborist, and interviews candidates for the School of Medicine.