The Penn State K 30 Program has specific clinical research curricula for two groups of students: junior clinical faculty (physician-students) and medical students. The physician-student program has three components: first, a 36 credit clinical research education program leading to the Masters in Health Evaluation Sciences;second, a mentored independent clinical research project is required;and third, each physician-student must use the results of their research project to write and submit a grant proposal for independent funding. The medical student program includes the two semester 3 credit survey course, The Elements of Clinical Research, and opportunities to participate in mentored clinical research. We matriculated our first cohorts of students in summer 1999. For the physician-student program we have enrolled 4 - 7 students per year. The medical student program began with a class of 20 in 1999 and has grown each year with 66 in the class of 2003 - 2004. Among the 20 entrants in the first four cohorts of physician-students 16 have graduated and 15 (75%) have stayed at our institution. To date we have trained clinician-scientists in the departments of medicine, surgery, pediatrics, pathology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, and family and community medicine. The physician-students in the first four cohorts have written 50 grants, of which 32 have been funded for a total award amount of over $2,600,000 to date. Assessment of the medical student program indicates that it is effective in increasing long term participation in clinical research by our graduates. Goals for the next funding period are to increase the number of clinicians and basic scientists that teach courses, to increase the number of clinically focused courses, and to increase the size of the physician-student cohorts. There was no formal training for clinical research prior to the Penn State K 30 program. It is now the foundation upon which we will be able to grow and to produce more independently funded clinical investigators for the following reasons: 1. We have a large interdisciplinary group of teachers and mentors, as shown under Key Personnel;2. The program has continuity of leadership and administration;3.The institution supports the program in many ways, including an initial dedication of over $576,000 to establish protected research time for our physician-students, followed by a new commitment of $500,000 for the next award period 4. The curricula for both the physician-student and the medical student programs are continuously assessed and upgraded and 5. There has been increased interest in students and mentors in participating in the program each ,ear.
