May 18, 2005 -- Yeshiva College 2005 graduate David Kastner of Teaneck, NJ, has been accepted to the prestigious MD/PhD program at Stanford University for the 2005-2006 school year. Mr. Kastner entered Yeshiva College as an English major considering a minor in chemistry, with plans to become a physician. During the summer of 2002, he worked as a lab assistant at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals in Tarrytown, NY, an experience that solidified an interest in research. The following summer he conducted research at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and found his interests shifting to biology. With only two courses left to complete the chemistry major, Kastner decided to pursue a third major in biology to bolster his chances of acceptance to an MD/PhD program. Mr. Kastner spent the summer of 2004 in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship Program at The Rockefeller University. He worked in Dr. Thomas Sakmar’s lab mapping parts of the signal transduction pathway, which is how a cell converts one kind of signal or stimulus into another. Mr. Kastner, 23, is interested in studying neurological diseases and would like to combine patient treatment with research. Mr. Kastner chose Stanford because it stress interdisciplinary studies. "The program combines different fields and fosters collaborative efforts between programs," Mr. Kastner said. The Medical Scientist Training Program typically admits eight to 10 students to the intensive seven to nine year program. Students are required to take two years of medical school classes, complete their scientific research and thesis, and then finish the last two years of medical school.