Continuing support is requested for the Yale Training Program in Childhood Neuropsychiatric Disorders. The program involves 50 Faculty from 12 departments. Thirty seven of the faculty are NIH-funded and eligible to serve as mentors and 24 of these faculty have served as mentors over the past 5 years. There are two major components to this postdoctoral training: (1) a mentor-based research training that brings together established, NIH-funded, investigators in child psychiatry, child psychology, neuropsychology, pediatrics, epidemiology, genetics, molecular and developmental neurobiology, immunobiology, in vivo neuroimaging, neuropsychopharmacology, behavioral interventions and services research with an outstanding group of post-doctoral fellows from a broad range of scientific backgrounds;and (2) an individually tailored curriculum that focuses on the skills necessary to achieve the status of an independent investigator as rapidly as possible. This curriculum fosters teamwork across disciplines with a focus on the latest scientific and technological advances;mastery of the knowledge base concerning neurodevelopmental processes;formulation of research questions and grant submissions relevant to the recently reformulated Mission and Strategic Plan of NIMH;and sensitivity to the protection of human subjects, the ethical conduct of science, and the need for a diverse workforce. The innovative six-year Solnit Integrated Research Training Program (IRTP) has become a key feature of this program. In the IRTP promising physician-scientists, with a previous background in research, are encouraged to enroll in advanced MS and PhD degree programs at Yale. We have formed a strong alliance with the Investigative Medicine PhD Program (IMP) at Yale and five of our ten current IRTP trainees are in enrolled in this PhD program. Three others already have either a PhD or a MS degree, and two additional trainees are scheduled to enter in July 2009. They were selected from over 200 eligible applicants. Support is requested for 7 postdoctoral trainees per year for a five year period.
This application is aimed at preparing an outstanding interdisciplinary cohort of researchers for independent careers in the investigation and treatment of childhood psychiatric disorders. Such programs are urgently needed. This need is based on the large number of children affected, the considerable costs to society associated with their care, the limited effectiveness of available treatment.
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