# Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee (MAC)

The Multidisciplinary Action Committee (MAC) has the responsibility to advise doctoral students as they progress in their dissertation research. The MAC has the authority to require that the dissertation research meet a high-quality standard, including the authority to require a rewrite of the dissertation research thesis proposal and/or the written dissertation, in whole or in part. The student must meet with their MAC yearly and complete the [Progress Report](https://learn.mssm.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_285307_1\&course_id=_779_1) form after each meeting along with the MAC. The form must be submitted to the Program Manager annually beginning in year three and before the defense.

The MAC conducts the final oral examination and determines whether the dissertation meets the acceptable standards. It will be up to the committee as to when the student is ready to defend their dissertation. The student must submit the progress report form to the CLR program office as proof that the committee has met and decided that the student is ready to defend.

#### **Identification of MAC Members**

By no later than March 31 of year two, a PhDCR candidate will form a Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee (MAC) which will oversee the progress of the dissertation research. With the help of the PhD Oversight Committee and dissertation research mentor(s), the student will identify five MAC members, including a Chair. Required members of the committee include:

* A Biostatistician with appropriate analytical expertise of relevance to the dissertation research proposal
* Faculty with different methodologic and/or phenotypic patient-oriented research expertise of relevance to the proposed dissertation research 
* A Chair, selected by the candidate and their respective mentor(s) with expertise of relevance to the proposed dissertation research

**No member of the PhD Oversight Committee will be allowed to serve as a voting member on any candidate’s MAC. One member of the PhD Oversight Committee will attend all MAC meetings to assure that all meetings are conducted according to the program policies and procedures.**

Not more than two members of the above committee may be from a comparable academic setting other than Mount Sinai. The majority of the committee, including the chair, must be members of the Graduate School Faculty. 

#### **MAC Members may not be:**

* Collaborators on the project or recent related projects
* Co-authors on papers or abstracts with the student on any project and/or working on projects that will lead to future publications
* Substantially involved in supervising the work or advising for the thesis work

The PhD Oversight Committee must approve the committee roster and the chair, and will outline the duties of the reviewers and of the Committee. A copy of the [Declaration for PhD in Clinical Research](https://learn.mssm.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_285307_1\&course_id=_779_1) form, which includes the name of the dissertation mentor(s) and the MAC members must be provided to the Clinical Research Education Program Office by March 31 of year two. The student will be responsible for obtaining signatures from their MAC members and the Program Manager will assist the student in obtaining approval from the PhD Oversight Committee.

#### **Outside Reviewer for Dissertation Defense** 

In anticipation of the dissertation defense, the student will need to have identified an outside reviewer (preferably not from the institution) with knowledge related to the student's field of study. If the student wishes to identify the outside review at the time that they submit their declaration form, they may do so by including the name of the individual in "Adviser 6" box. Otherwise, the name should be included in the [Dissertation Defense and Seminar Registration](https://learn.mssm.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContentEditable.jsp?content_id=_285307_1\&course_id=_779_1) form.


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://ismms-gs.gitbook.io/graduate-student-handbook/chapter-3-1/clinical-research-education-program/advising/multidisciplinary-advisory-committee-mac.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.