This proposal requests a second cycle of support for the Northwestern University Infectious Diseases Education and Science (NuIDeas) Training Program. The goal of this program is to leverage the clinical and basic research expertise and resources available at Northwestern University to train MD and MD/PhD fellows in infectious disease translational research. This training program leverages the considerable clinical expertise of the Infectious Disease clinical faculty with the long-standing basic science strengths in microbiology and immunology at Northwestern University, which together create a rich environment for translational research. The training program serves as a nidus of collaboration between these two groups. Each trainee works with both a primary research mentor and a clinical co-mentor to foster interaction between research and clinical faculty and enhance the translational aspects of the fellow's research experience. A training program consisting of a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation degree, seminars, career development programs, and education in the ethical conduct of research promotes excellence in research. One highly qualified MD or MD/PhD fellow is chosen each year for a two-year intensive research experience. Furthermore, the Feinberg School of Medicine has funded a second trainee slot, so that a total of two new trainees have been enrolled into the program each year. The first cycle of the NuIDeas Program has been highly successful. Ten fellows were trained. Of the six who have finished training in NuIDeas, five now hold academic infectious disease appointments with protected research time. During the second cycle of funding, we propose to broaden the trainee pool of the NuIDeas Program by including Pediatric Infectious Disease fellows from the affiliated Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago and to expand the panel of mentors to better match research opportunities to the interests of the fellows. Importantly, the Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics are committed to the continued funding of the second NuIDeas training slot. This program will position trainees to assume leadership positions in research and education at a critical time of global infectious disease re-emergence coupled with a shrinking pool of infectious disease subspecialists.

Public Health Relevance

The continued emergence of new pathogens, the unacceptable morbidity and mortality due to conventional infections, and the epidemics of antibiotic-resistant bacteria highlight the need for well-trained researchers in infectious diseases. This postgraduate training program in infectious diseases will provide training for investigators capable of harnessing the discoveries in the basic sciences of microbiology and immunology to develop novel interventions aimed at ameliorating the burden of infectious diseases.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
Type
Institutional National Research Service Award (T32)
Project #
2T32AI095207-06
Application #
9358232
Study Section
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases B Subcommittee (MID)
Program Officer
Robbins, Christiane M
Project Start
2012-07-01
Project End
2022-06-30
Budget Start
2017-07-15
Budget End
2018-06-30
Support Year
6
Fiscal Year
2017
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Northwestern University at Chicago
Department
Microbiology/Immun/Virology
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
005436803
City
Chicago
State
IL
Country
United States
Zip Code
60611
Krapp, Fiorella; Ozer, Egon A; Qi, Chao et al. (2018) Case Report of an Extensively Drug-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Infection With Genomic Characterization of the Strain and Review of Similar Cases in the United States. Open Forum Infect Dis 5:ofy074
Trinh, Sonya A; Angarone, Michael P (2017) Purpureocillium lilacinum tattoo-related skin infection in a kidney transplant recipient. Transpl Infect Dis 19:
Krapp, Fiorella; Morris, Andrew R; Ozer, Egon A et al. (2017) Virulence Characteristics of Carbapenem-Resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae Strains from Patients with Necrotizing Skin and Soft Tissue Infections. Sci Rep 7:13533
Trinh, Sonya A; Echenique, Ignacio A; Penugonda, Sudhir et al. (2017) Optimal strategies for the diagnosis of community-onset diarrhea in solid organ transplant recipients: Less is more. Transpl Infect Dis 19:
Fitzpatrick, Margaret A; Ozer, Egon A; Hauser, Alan R (2016) Utility of Whole-Genome Sequencing in Characterizing Acinetobacter Epidemiology and Analyzing Hospital Outbreaks. J Clin Microbiol 54:593-612
Ozer, Egon A; Morris, Andrew R; Krapp, Fiorella et al. (2016) Draft Genome Sequence of a Multidrug-Resistant Klebsiella quasipneumoniae subsp. similipneumoniae Isolate from a Clinical Source. Genome Announc 4:
Fitzpatrick, Margaret A; Ozer, Egon; Bolon, Maureen K et al. (2015) Influence of ACB complex genospecies on clinical outcomes in a U.S. hospital with high rates of multidrug resistance. J Infect 70:144-52
Walker, Ellie; Ison, Michael G (2014) Respiratory viral infections among hospitalized adults: experience of a single tertiary healthcare hospital. Influenza Other Respir Viruses 8:282-92
Fitzpatrick, Margaret; Zembower, Teresa; Malczynski, Michael et al. (2014) Outcomes of an enhanced surveillance program for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 35:419-22
Ozer, Egon A; Fitzpatrick, Margaret A; Hauser, Alan R (2014) Draft Genome Sequence of Acinetobacter baumannii Strain ABBL099, a Multidrug-Resistant Clinical Outbreak Isolate with a Novel Multilocus Sequence Type. Genome Announc 2: