The purpose of the Baylor Child Health Research Center (CHRC) is to enhance academic career development in molecular pediatrics, a term we use for the application of molecular biological approaches to research in problems in pediatric medicine. The Center recruits high quality young pediatricians from a variety of backgrounds, matches them with successful scientific mentors, helps them develop research programs, provides funds to support their programs and provides education and core laboratory support to enhance their progress. Faculty are recruited to the CHRC from Baylor's training programs by expanding on ongoing training programs such as the Center for Training in Molecular Medicine. In addition, national searches for outstanding candidates are coordinated from the office of the Vice Chairman for Research in the Department. New faculty are matched with mentors from the faculty of the CHRC which is comprised of 47 investigators from 10 different departments in the School. All have active funded research programs in areas related to the theme of the CHRC, and all have expertise mentoring physician-scientists. New faculty develop research programs with their mentors and submit applications for new Program Development Projects from the CHRC. All applications are reviewed by a Steering Committee of 10 faculty members selected from the overall CHRC faculty. Applicants are provided written critiques of their proposals and these critiques are reviewed with them by the program director. All applicants, funded and non-funded, and center faculty are eligible for educational and core laboratory support by the Center. Educational support consists of CHRC seminars, laboratory conferences and a series of courses designed to enhance academic development and teach the basics of molecular biology. The core laboratory support provides oligonucleotide synthesis, DNA sequencing and extensive computational support through an extension of the Molecular Biology Computational Resource at Baylor. Our five years of experience with this approach to academic development of pediatric faculty has been extremely successful. The Baylor CHRC has become a center of excellence for molecular medicine research related to pediatrics and has fostered career development in 16 current members of the Baylor faculty. Overall, the center has been highly successful in facilitating the research activities of new and established investigators at Baylor and has achieved its original goal of fostering research for the benefit of the health of children.
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