The Johns Hopkins Training Program in Sexually Transmitted Infections seeks to provide training to eight predoctoral and three postdoctoral students, including clinical post-doctoral infectious disease fellows. The proposed program is a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort which includes 20 trainers (Mentors) from departments in the School of Public Health (Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Epidemiology, Population and Family Health Sciences. and international Health), the School of Medicine (Infectious Diseases, Pediatrics, Pathology, Oncology), and the School of Arts and Science (Biophysics). All of the trainers have active NIH-funded research programs in STI-related topics and have expertise in nearly all fields relevant to STIs, including clinical care and research, infectious diseases, adolescent medicine, reproductive health, behavioral research and intervention, epidemiology, microbiology, therapeutic and diagnostic trials, vaccinology, health economics, and health policy. The predoctoral students will be recruited from those in the above departments (or if appropriate, other departments of the University) who have (1) completed their coursework and are post-certified, (2) have chosen a thesis topic appropriate for this program, and (3) are committed to fulfill the requirements of this program. They will work in one of four areas: laboratory sciences, epidemiology, behavior, and health policy/economics. Postdoctoral clinical trainees will be encouraged to pursue clinical research projects using the Johns Hopkins and Baltimore City Health Department clinics. A structured didactic, mentoring and evaluation program is a key component. All trainees will be required to take (if they have not already done so) prescribed courses covering the prevention and control of sexually transmitted diseases, biostatistics and epidemiology, ethics and grant writing. The students will attend the weekly STD Seminar Series and will periodically present their research findings to this and other groups. The trainers will help the students in the design and execution of the research project and will acquaint them with the resources available in the field. They will serve on the student's thesis committee to monitor progress and to offer constructive advice. The postdoctoral students will work closely with a trainer. The Program Directors and Executive Committee will closely monitor trainee progress to ensure that the program objectives are being achieved.
The aim will be to train young investigators who will be leaders in future efforts to prevent and control STIs in the USA and the world.
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