This is a competitive renewal application for a NIH T32 institutional training grant for continuation of a new training program at Baylor College of Medicine focused on the training of physicians as investigators in the discipline of immunology. Initial funding has supported 6 trainees, of which 100% (3/3) of graduating trainees have taken tenure track academic positions, 83% are women, and 50% (3) of trainees are URM. Trainees are recruited and selected from a large pool of outstanding applicants to Baylor's ACGME/RRC approved training programs in allergy and immunology and in rheumatology. Continuation of four postdoctoral trainee positions annually is requested. Trainees are competitively selected for appointed to the T32 training program each year for two to three years of rigorous scientific training. Eighteen tenure track faculty have been carefully selected to serve as mentors, based on their excellence in research and teaching. Trainees enroll in graduate school courses and Baylor's NIH K30 supported physician scientist curriculum in clinical investigation to acquire a sound fund of knowledge in basic science and immunology, the principles of conducting clinical research, and the ethical conduct of research. Trainees will be comprehensively mentored in hypothesis driven research, preparation and publication of manuscripts, presentations at national meetings, preparation of grant proposals, skills for teaching and mentoring, and academic career development. The mentors are selected from over 40 faculty within Baylor's multidisciplinary Biology of Inflammation Center, NIH/NIAID Texas Medical Center Asthma and Allergic Diseases Cooperative Research Center, and HHMI Translational Biology and Molecular Medicine graduate program,, which provides a highly interactive critical mass of investigators with diverse trainees comprised of graduate students, medical students, PhD postdocs, MD postdocs, and MD/PhD postdocs. Mentors provide training opportunities in cytokine structure and function, chemokine biology, adhesion molecules, signal transduction and termination of signaling, gene activation, molecular genetics, tissue remodeling, cellular immunology and immunoregulation, murine models of inflammation, infection and immunity, the pathobiology of immune-mediated diseases, design of valid tools for epidemiology, and clinical trial outcome analysis. The goal of this training program is to continue to develop immunology physician-scientists who will serve as future academic leaders.
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