Abstract: To facilitate the selection of thesis topics for master′s students in clinical medicine and to ensure that their research remains aligned with the most recent advancements in disease studies, while also balancing fundamental research with clinical relevance, the Second Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University has established a dual-mentorship system. This system involves collaboration between clinical and basic science faculty to provide guidance in selecting appropriate thesis topics. To establish collaborative partnerships between clinical and basic science mentors aligned with the clinical mentor′s research direction, small-scale experiments and preliminary foundational validation studies were conducted. Based on the experimental results, thesis topics were selected for 14 master′s students in clinical medicine during their topic selection phase. All students graduated on schedule, with their thesis topics integrating both basic and clinical research while emphasizing clinical application and translational potential. Among the students, 12 of them reported that this topic selection approach helped them master the methods for developing research topics. Three theses were recognized as outstanding at the university level, one received a provincial-level outstanding thesis award, and three were granted second-class provincial graduate innovation awards. The dual-supervision model involving both clinical and basic science mentors facilitates a smooth thesis topic selection process and helps ensure the quality of master′s education.

Key words: Academic dissertations, Master′s students, Dual clinical-basic mentor, Select research topic, Approach