The training program in Pediatric Infectious Diseases (Al- 052067) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), funded since 2002, aims to rigorously train physicians and physician-scientists in infectious diseases research with a special focus on illnesses of global importance. We propose to continue to train two postdoctoral trainees per year. Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of infectious diseases are emphasized, reflecting well-established interdepartmental and international collaborations already present at CWRU. For this purpose, we provide 23 faculty trainers representing 10 departments in the Schools of Medicine and the Schools of Dentistry and Biomedical Engineering at CWRU. Most of these scientists have NIH funding and have successfully trained research and physician scientists in an interdisciplinary manner. Most of our trainers are members in infrastructures at CWRU that will foster the success of this training program, such as Geographic Medicine, Tuberculosis Research Unit, Center for AIDS Research, the AIDS Clinical Trials Group, the Center for Antimicrobial Research and Epidemiology, and the Center for Medical Mycology. Most of these maintain active overseas research projects and support training at CWRU of foreign scientists, thus promoting a healthy collaborative environment for international research. This program has proven to be successful in its first period of funding. In the last five years, this program has recruited and supported ten trainees. Of the eight trainees that have completed training, five (63%) have faculty appointments and are active researchers and four (50%) have been awarded federal or major foundation research grants from NIH. The additional three trainees who completed training sought additional research-oriented fellowship training. To continue to meet the need to offer protective research time for pediatric infectious diseases trainees, this application seeks continuing funding for 2 postdoctoral positions per year (M.D. or MD/PhD). Trainees, while supported by the training program, will devote 85% of their time to research training.
