The lack of highly-qualified physician-investigators, particularly in the realm of academic obstetrics and gynecology, remains a major national concern. The Utah Women's Reproductive Health Research (WRHR) Career Development Center, as proposed by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center (UUHSC), constitutes a rigorous career development program of physician-investigators of the highest caliber. Capitalizing on the established links of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology with the academic UUHSC community, the Utah WRHR Career Development Center proposes to match WRHR Scholars with seventeen outstanding intra and extra departmental mentors. Moreover, the Utah WRHR Career Development Center proposes to sequentially link with and draw on the experience of, the Human Molecular Biology and Genetics (HMBG) Program, a unique and innovative non-mentored UUHSC-based career development program. The success of the latter in fostering physician-investigators is well-established. Four tracks of study will be made available to WRHR Scholars to include: (1) Human Development (2) Reproductive Endocrinology (3) Reproductive Cancer and (4) Perinatal Medicine. In recognition of the heterogeneity of prior research experience of candidate WRHR scholars, we propose two phases of study thereby ensuring graded progress. The two year Basic Phase, designed for WRHR scholars without prior research experience, will require a series of core graduate level courses and will introduce the WRHR Scholar to contemporary investigative tools as they apply to basic translational and/or clinical technology. The Advanced Phase, designed for WRHR scholars with prior research experience, will require elective graduate courses while pursuing increasingly independent research of relevance to women's reproductive health. Clinical obligations will be minimal. Institutional support exceeding 500,000 dollars has been allocated. WRHR Scholars will enjoy ready access to a broad range of core facilities (including DNA chip microarray technology). With the completion of the program, it is anticipated that each WRHR Scholar will be well-prepared to compete for appropriate extramural funding. Moreover, each WRHR Scholar will be offered the opportunity to apply for the unmentored UUHSC-based HMBG Program thereby facilitating the next phase of his/her development (i.e. maturation through independence). Led by two academically-committed obstetrician/gynecologists, Eli Y. Adashi, M.D., PI and D. Ware Branch, M.D., Center Director, the Utah WRHR Career Development Center will offer an outstanding intellectual environment for the development of leading academic obstetrician-gynecologists in a rapidly-growing academic research institution.
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