The purpose of this NIH K30 competitive renewal application is to support and expand the clinical researchcurriculum at the University of Colorado Health Science Center (UCHSC). This curriculum is a componentof the Clinical Science Degree Program at UCHSC. We propose to improve the quality of instruction in theexisting UCHSC Clinical Science curriculum and support expansion to include training in the quicklyevolving field of health information technology. The UCHSC Clinical Science Program directors arenationally recognized as leaders for planning, directing, and executing high quality, rigorous courses andresearch project experiences for clinical science training. The UCHSC Clinical Science Program includesboth a Certificate program for clinical investigations completing 22 hours of advanced course work and aand Ph.D. in Clinical Science requiring of two years of didactic course work followed by a thesis based onclinical investigation. Both the Certificate and the PhD Programs were developed over the past six yearsand have documented exceptional student achievements (for both publication in the peer-reviewedliterature and extramural funding), high-level enrollment and timely completion rates. The UCHSC ClinicalScience Program has two tracks: Clinical Investigation and Health Services Research.The goal of this competitive K30 renewal application, therefore, is to maintain and improve the existingdidactic curriculum and to substantively expand this current curriculum by adding new bioinformatics-relatedcoursework. In addition, student research project mentorship will be improved and expanded by addingUCHSC Graduate School information systems and biotechnology faculty to our program and creating newbioinformatics support for these clinical investigators. as needed to provide the required informationalphabetical order, last name first.
