The number of available organs is severely limited by a shortage of donors. A new field of science,regenerative medicine, has emerged that brings the potential of designing and creating artificial organs orparts of organs very close to a reality. To develop functional tissue it will be required to apply genetic,computational, and tissue engineering approaches in a novel way. This will require a novel type of scientistwho has been well-trained in the concepts and methods at the interfaces of multiple disciplines. Successfullyintegrating the approaches of developmental biology, genomic, computational and quantitative science, andtissue engineering could dramatically catalyze the formation of a new interdisciplinary approach to organbuilding. This would have a profound impact on the treatment of many diseases.The SysCODE (Systems-based Consortium for Organ Design and Engineering) Training Program involveseducational and research communities at Harvard, MIT, Boston University, and Vanderbilt University Schoolof Medicine. The primary goal is to is to cross-train young postdoctoral trainees in an area of expertiseoutside of their primary research field. Working at the intersection of multiple disciplines will enable thesetrainees to learn a new language and ultimately develop a common dialect that effectively bridgesdisciplines. This new generation of scholars will be better prepared to address the complexity of organdesign and engineering from an interdisciplinary approach. The fabric of collaboration and interdisciplinaryapproaches to science will break from the usual 'one postdoctoral fellow - one mentor - one laboratory'approach to postgraduate training in the sciences and will actively encourage communication acrosslaboratories, institutions and geographic boundaries. This program will provide postdoctoral trainees withtools necessary for becoming independent investigators with unique faculty in the interdisciplinary approachto science.
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