The purpose of our Training Program in Gastrointestinal (GI) Epidemiology is to train and develop future independent investigators and leaders in GI clinical research by providing selected GI fellows with: (1) core methodological skills in the design and execution of clinical research; and, (2) a structured, mentored research experience under the guidance of our world-class Core Faculty. This is the third competitive renewal application for our uniquely focused program. With this training, our T32 fellows leave GI fellowship poised to compete for tenure-track faculty positions and secure external funding for further career development, ultimately leading to independent research careers. Since inception in 2002, 14 trainees have completed this program. Nearly 80% are faculty at academic medical centers, and nearly two-thirds successfully competed for foundation or federal career development awards. We request support for 2 post-doctoral trainees (i.e., GI fellows) per training year to support the growing interest in clinical research careers among GI trainees, with each trainee completing two years of training (i.e., 4 trainees total). The goals of the Training Program in GI Epidemiology are: (1) completion of a Master?s degree focused on the design and execution of clinical research; (2) completion of a focused GI clinical research seminar series and a comprehensive clinical epidemiology/health care policy seminar series; (3) successful design, execution, and publication of multiple clinical research projects under the guidance of a team of mentors, including content experts (e.g., gastroenterologists) and methodologists (e.g., epidemiologists); and, (4) preparation of a career development award or other grant application. Each trainee focuses on a specific topic and completes 3 interrelated projects: (1) a meta-analysis; (2) a secondary dataset analysis; and, (3) design of a prospective study. These projects provide the foundation and preliminary data for a career development award application. Our training program is greatly enhanced by the rich, collaborative environment of the University of Michigan, with its vast resources, centers, and research institutes, including: (1) the CTSA-supported Michigan Institute of Clinical and Health Research (MICHR); (2) the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation; and, (3) the VA Center for Clinical Management Research (a VA HSR&D Center of Innovation). Our multi-disciplinary Core Faculty includes expert biostatisticians, epidemiologists, behavioral economists, policy-makers, and translational, clinical, and outcomes researchers from not only the Division of Gastroenterology, but also the Division of General Internal Medicine and the School of Public Health. Most faculty are federally-funded for their ongoing research, and these faculty offer a broad spectrum of research expertise with multiple levels of established collaboration and many years of experience mentoring trainees.

Public Health Relevance

Gastroenterologists trained to conduct clinical research are needed to translate new discoveries in basic science into better patient care, sustain future generations of scientists, and advance scientific innovation in gastroenterology. Since this program began in 2002, our trainees have fulfilled this need: nearly 80% of our trainees have become faculty at academic medical centers, and these physicians have been awarded multiple research grants while producing numerous publications of their work. This track record demonstrates the success of our program, which is supported by a dedicated group of world-class Core Faculty and vast resources at the University of Michigan. Support is requested for 2 postdoctoral trainees per training year (4 total), who are selected from a national pool of highly-qualified internal medicine residents seeking additional clinical training in our renowned gastroenterology fellowship program.

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 #
5T32DK062708-17
Application #
9702790
Study Section
Kidney, Urologic and Hematologic Diseases D Subcommittee (DDK)
Program Officer
Densmore, Christine L
Project Start
2003-02-01
Project End
2023-06-30
Budget Start
2019-07-01
Budget End
2020-06-30
Support Year
17
Fiscal Year
2019
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Michigan Ann Arbor
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
073133571
City
Ann Arbor
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48109
Shah, Eric D; Allen, John I (2018) How to Become a Physician Executive: From Fellowship to Leadership. Gastroenterology 154:784-787
Thomson, Mary J; Tapper, Elliot B; Lok, Anna S F (2018) Dos and Don'ts in the Management of Cirrhosis: A View from the 21st Century. Am J Gastroenterol 113:927-931
Mellinger, Jessica L; Volk, Michael L (2018) Transplantation for Alcohol-related Liver Disease: Is It Fair? Alcohol Alcohol 53:173-177
Shah, Eric D; Kim, Hyungjin Myra; Schoenfeld, Philip (2018) Efficacy and Tolerability of Guanylate Cyclase-C Agonists for Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation and Chronic Idiopathic Constipation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Am J Gastroenterol 113:329-338
Thomson, Mary; Tapper, Elliot B (2018) Towards patient-centred and cost-effective care for patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol 3:75-76
Maratt, Jennifer K; Calderwood, Audrey H; Saini, Sameer D (2018) When and How to Stop Surveillance Colonoscopy in Older Adults: Five Rules of Thumb for Practitioners. Am J Gastroenterol 113:5-7
Maratt, Jennifer K; Menees, Stacy B; Piper, Marc S et al. (2018) Patients Are Willing to Repeat Colonoscopy at a Short Interval When Bowel Preparation Quality Is Suboptimal. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 16:776-777
Thomson, Mary J; Lok, Anna S; Tapper, Elliot B (2018) Optimizing medication management for patients with cirrhosis: Evidence-based strategies and their outcomes. Liver Int 38:1882-1890
Konerman, Monica A; Thomson, Mary; Gray, Kristen et al. (2017) Impact of an electronic health record alert in primary care on increasing hepatitis c screening and curative treatment for baby boomers. Hepatology 66:1805-1813
Konerman, Monica A; Lu, Dongxia; Zhang, Yiwei et al. (2017) Assessing risk of fibrosis progression and liver-related clinical outcomes among patients with both early stage and advanced chronic hepatitis C. PLoS One 12:e0187344

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