A research institute that is a joint venture between the Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will receive a $6 million gift to help find new ways to teach medical students and conduct research, Beth Israel announced Saturday.

The gift is from philanthropists Ruth and Carl S. Shapiro, a former trustee at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center who is now a hospital overseer. The gift will grant the institute, the Mount Auburn Institute for Education and Research, $1 million over a period of six years.

In recognition of the gift the institute will become the Carl S. Shapiro Institute for Education and Research. The funds will finance the new Center for Advanced Studies in Medical Education.

"This [gift] will enable us to take the giant step that will enable us to achieve national and international leadership in medical education," said Professor of Medicine Mitchell T. Rabkin '51, a scholar in residence at the institute and the former CEO of Beth Israel.

Founded by the medical school and Beth Israel four years ago, the institute has focused on new ways of educating medical students at a time when medical economics and treatment are changing the way medicine is taught, Rabkin said.

"For most of this century, hospitals were central in the teaching of young physicians," he said in a statement. "Today, with fewer inpatient admissions, shortened hospital stays, and more patients being diagnosed and treated in outpatient clinics, hospitals provide fewer teaching opportunities."

One of the institute's most significant projects involves using interactive software and other computer technology to teach medical students with what Rabkin called "virtual patients."

Although virtual patient technology means that students are not interacting with real patients, Rabkin said the tool prepares students for a wide variety of situations and makes the time they spend interacting with patients more productive.

"We think it will not depersonalize care but in fact wind up enhancing...the high quality of medial care and the high quality of research," he said.

The institute also focuses on improving biomedical research, Rabkin said. The institute now focuses on remedies for research problems ranging from securing project funding to increasing communication between scientists researching similar subjects.

"As we get more and more research work in molecular biology...one's intellectual colleagues can be very far afield," Rabkin said.

Along with other contributions from the Shapiros, such as a $5 million gift that formed the Carl J. Shapiro Clinical Center for Ambulatory Care, the recent gift will make the Shapiros the biggest donors in the history of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Dean of the Medical School Joseph B. Martin said he was pleased with the gift.

"We are looking to the Carl J. Shapiro Institute to continue its development of innovative teaching methods for medical students and to expand its efforts for resident training and continuing medical education," Martin said. "This gift greatly accelerates our ability to reach that goal."