The Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) applies to renew funding for a T32 Training Grant in Gastrointestinal Surgery. This training program has existed at UCSF for 20 years, and this application is for the fourth renewal. Funding is requested for three general surgery residents, who will spend two years fully committed to basic research. The objective is to provide trainees with a rigorous, in-depth training in gastrointestinal biology. The intent is to train the next generation of surgeon-scientists. Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are common, debilitating, and poorly understood. Uncontrolled inflammation drastically alters the normal gut function, can cause chronic pain and may predispose cancer. Disorders of motility and secretion affect all regions of the gut. Obesity is an epidemic. Many of these diseases are treated by surgery. Given that the mechanisms of these diseases are poorly understood, and since surgical intervention is often required, it is essential to provide the next generation of surgeons with a thorough training in research in the general area of gastrointestinal biology. The training program is based in the UCSF Center for the Neurobiology of Digestive Diseases. It includes faculty from the Centers for Colitis and Crohn's Disease, the Liver Research Center, the Diabetes Center, the Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, and the Pain Center for Advanced Research and Education. The seventeen program faculty are associated with these centers, are based at all UCSF campuses, and are members of the Department of Surgery or other clinical and science departments. They have an exemplary record of training residents, fellows and students, and have outstanding, well-funded research programs. Program faculty have interests in mechanisms of gastrointestinal inflammation and pain, regulation of food intake and obesity, and signaling by growth factors and neuropeptides. There is strong collaboration between program faculty, providing cohesion. Trainees will have a basic science mentor (the principal investigator of their laboratory, and a clinical mentor, who is a surgeon and the member of the Department of Surgery. Many co-mentors have worked together in the past. The training program comprises mentored laboratory-based training and didactic training in research techniques, scientific writing, biostatistics and specialized subjects related to the research topics. The Executive Committee of the training program and the Research Committee of the Department of Surgery provide oversight and evaluate the selection and progress of trainees. This careful oversight ensures that the trainees receive an exemplary training. Public Health Relevance: Diseases of the gastrointestinal tract are common, debilitating and poorly understood. They are often treated by surgery. Therefore, it is essential that surgeons are trained in gastrointestinal research to prepare them for careers as surgeon-scientists investigating the causes and treatments for gastrointestinal diseases.
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