Women's Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) at the University of Washington: A medical residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology is an intense four-year clinical experience that is sometimes followed by a three-year subspecialty fellowship. Physicians that complete a residency and perhaps a fellowship are usually superb clinicians, but generally are not well prepared to meet the research requirements of a career in academic medicine. This proposal describes a plan for a continuation of a successful Research Career Development Center in women's health for Ob/Gyn physicians at the University of Washington. The major goal of this center remains a commitment to bridge the gap between clinical and research training to enable young physicians to establish research careers and eventually become independent investigators. The principal training format proposed is a mentored experience with a successful investigator (clinical or basic) for a minimum of two plus years. During these two (+) years, the scholar (trainee) devotes most of his/her time to a research project(s) whereby he/she acquires the knowledge and skills to become independent and assume a faculty position. This proposed continuation of the UW Research Career Development Center has seventeen mentors with extensive research experience and funding that collectively represent both strong clinical and basic science expertise in subject areas that directly relate to women's health. This is a multidisciplinary proposal in that the mentors have their primary appointments in the Departments of Ob/Gyn, Pediatrics, Medicine, Pathology, Molecular Biotechnology, Genetics, Physiology and Biophysics, and Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Each proposed mentor has a record of excellence in research and documented experience in training young investigators. The Department of Ob/Gyn will diligently recruit outside scholars, and it has a relatively large pool of residents, fellows, and junior faculty eager to compete for the three proposed Scholar awards. The Ob/Gyn Department and the School of Medicine at the University of Washington are prepared to make major commitments of resources and funding to support this proposed research center. The Ob/Gyn Department has acquired considerable experience in research training and has successfully trained five Scholars from 1998-2003.
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