This application is a competing renewal of T32 DK007774 from the University of Pittsburgh. A critical need for scientists who understand both the basic biology and clinical aspects of urologic diseases exists. Our goal is to fulfill this need by providing postdoctoral fellows with the skills required for a successful career in urologic research. The participating mentors, who all have extramural funding and well-equipped labs, focus on many of the key mechanisms underlying urologic diseases, including the molecular biology of benign prostatic hyperplasia, prostate growth regulation, androgen action, inflammation, and neuron-epithelial interactions. Many of the mentors have a history of collaboration, providing the opportunity for trainees to learn multi-disciplinary approaches to solve problems. The Urology Department and Medical School provide superb infrastructure and facilities that trainees can take advantage of. Trainees will develop their skills through (1) laboratory research;(2) courses in ethics and professional development, such as scientific writing and management, and;(3) participation in seminars, journal clubs, progress reports and group meetings. To explore the clinical relevance of their findings, trainees will attend urology grand rounds and interact with urologists and pathologists serving as clinical co-mentors. A mentoring contract will be in place to ensure that participants fully understand expectations. We will also implement a new system for evaluation that will help us to optimize our program. In the past 4 1/2 years, our program has successfully trained 7 postdoctoral fellows. These trainees have demonstrated their potential through their productivity, and almost all have remained in research. With the arrival of Dr. Wang as the new Program Director in 2008, recruiting efforts have greatly increased. As a result, we interviewed 8 excellent candidates in just several months. Of these, 4 have joined our program. Based on this current activity, in combination with our expanded faculty pool, we expect that we will be able to consistently fill all of the available slots with outstanding trainees. Of note, we will make a special effort to recruit minority postdoctoral trainees by soliciting applications from historically black colleges and universities. The Executive Training Committee will have the responsibility of both selecting the best candidates based on their recommendation letters, quality of publications and a seminar, and monitoring trainee progress. We request funding for 4 postdoctoral fellows each year for a period of 5 years, allowing us to continue to support the career development of talented young scientists.

Public Health Relevance

Urologic disease affects a great many individuals. To tackle these complex diseases requires scientists that recognize the importance of both the bench and bedside. Thus, the goal of our training program at the University of Pittsburgh is to prepare postdoctoral fellows to work as independent scientists at the interface of basic and clinical urologic research.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
5T32DK007774-13
Application #
8259807
Study Section
Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolic Diseases B Subcommittee (DDK)
Program Officer
Rankin, Tracy L
Project Start
1999-04-01
Project End
2015-04-30
Budget Start
2012-05-01
Budget End
2013-04-30
Support Year
13
Fiscal Year
2012
Total Cost
$211,678
Indirect Cost
$17,061
Name
University of Pittsburgh
Department
Urology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
004514360
City
Pittsburgh
State
PA
Country
United States
Zip Code
15213
Pascal, Laura E; Wang, Yao; Zhong, Mingming et al. (2018) EAF2 and p53 Co-Regulate STAT3 Activation in Prostate Cancer. Neoplasia 20:351-363
Zang, Yachen; Pascal, Laura E; Zhou, Yibin et al. (2018) ELL2 regulates DNA non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) repair in prostate cancer cells. Cancer Lett 415:198-207
Ai, J; Pascal, L E; Wei, L et al. (2017) EAF2 regulates DNA repair through Ku70/Ku80 in the prostate. Oncogene 36:2054-2065
Pascal, Laura E; Masoodi, Khalid Z; Liu, June et al. (2017) Conditional deletion of ELL2 induces murine prostate intraepithelial neoplasia. J Endocrinol 235:123-136
Qiu, Xiaonan; Pascal, Laura E; Song, Qiong et al. (2017) Physical and Functional Interactions between ELL2 and RB in the Suppression of Prostate Cancer Cell Proliferation, Migration, and Invasion. Neoplasia 19:207-215
Wang, Yao; Pascal, Laura E; Zhong, Mingming et al. (2017) Combined Loss of EAF2 and p53 Induces Prostate Carcinogenesis in Male Mice. Endocrinology 158:4189-4205
Liu, Teresa T; Grubisha, Melanie J; Frahm, Krystle A et al. (2016) Opposing Effects of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) on Estrogen Receptor ? (ER?) Response to 5?-Reductase Inhibition in Prostate Epithelial Cells. J Biol Chem 291:14747-60
Gurski, Lisa A; Knowles, Lynn M; Basse, Per H et al. (2015) Relocation of CLIC1 promotes tumor cell invasion and colonization of fibrin. Mol Cancer Res 13:273-80
Eisermann, Kurtis; Dar, Javid A; Dong, Jun et al. (2015) Poly (A) Binding Protein Cytoplasmic 1 Is a Novel Co-Regulator of the Androgen Receptor. PLoS One 10:e0128495
O'Malley, Katherine J; Eisermann, Kurtis; Pascal, Laura E et al. (2014) Proteomic analysis of patient tissue reveals PSA protein in the stroma of benign prostatic hyperplasia. Prostate 74:892-900

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