Research training for medical students, resident physicians, and post-residency fellows is essential to developing the next generation of clinician-scientists. Physicians clinically trained in otolaryngology-head and neck surgery are those most likely to undertake research in the NIDCD mission areas of hearing, taste, smell, voice, communication disorders, neuroscience, and related cellular biology. The goals of this application are to: 1) provide short-term (3 month) introductory research experiences to medical students to encourage them to seek careers in the communication sciences;2) to provide longer term (1 year) research experiences to medical students interested in otolaryngology, to encourage pursuit of residencies that include research training and, ultimately, academic careers;3) provide 18 months of research training to one otolaryngology resident/year, to define and develop research to be continued as an academic faculty member, complemented by a structured didactic program in Clinical Research Design and Statistical Analysis for trainees interested in clinical research;and 5) provide 1 year post-residency fellowships for 2 trainees/year to complement their clinical subspecialty training. The opportunity to attend extramural or intramural conferences or educational courses relevant to the trainee's chosen research discipline will be provided. Preceptors have been selected from our internationally-recognized faculty consisting of both basic and clinical researchers in a broad variety of disciplines. Many faculty preceptors are themselves accomplished clinician-scientists who are in demand as research mentors. Major focuses of research include the molecular genetics of hearing loss, neural mechanisms of auditory processing, tissue bioengineering, the molecular biology of neural regeneration, and head and neck oncology. The research programs and facilities of the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and the Kresge Hearing Research Institute are among the best in the world and represent a major strength. The Multidisciplinary Clinical Researchers in Training Program (MCRiT), funded by a recent Roadmap T32, provides a unique and outstanding didactic and practical program in clinical research. In addition, the University of Michigan has extensive investments in both clinical and basic research in terms of the pending Clinical Translational Science Award, numerous core facilities, and major cross-departmental centers.
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