This is a competing renewal application of a training grant currently in its 30th year of funding. The overall goal of this proposal is to train postdoctoral M.D. and Ph.D. fellows for academic careers in investigational dermatology. Its first objective is to provide laboratory training for dermatologically-trained physicians. Its second objective is to train Ph.D. basic scientists in laboratory-based investigative dermatology. Its third objective is to train dermatologists in clinical and translational research. Trainees will commit to a minimum of two years of research training, which will occur under the supervision of one of eleven primary preceptors. Laboratory-based fellows (M.D. and Ph.D.) will learn to formulate hypotheses and to design, perform, and analyze experiments, utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that emphasizes the use of human skin tissue as an experimental system. M.D. trainees in clinical/translational research will acquire proficiency in hypothesis-driven clinical research design and methods and in statistical analysis of data, while gaining an appreciation of the basic science knowledge underlying their clinical observations and interventions. To maximize multidisciplinary training, and to broaden our outreach into the broader University community, we have added three highly qualified primary preceptors from outside the Department of Dermatology. In addition to mandatory participation in selected departmental didactic activities, introductory and advanced courses in clinical research methods and a molecular biology course for clinician-scientists will be available for trainees through the Medical School and the School of Public Health. Also, training in the responsible conduct of research will be provided at the departmental and University-wide levels. In order to attract more dermatologists into academic careers, we have (i) incorporated two-year fellowships in cutaneous oncology and appearance-based dermatology, (ii) expanded our training opportunities to those interested in dermatopathology, and (iii) expanded our traditional clinical research base in skin pharmacology to encompass a wider spectrum of interventions, notably those involving ultraviolet light. We have also changed our resident selection procedure in order to identify and attract NRSA-eligible M.D.s with strong research potential, with excellent results. Finally, we have created a Web site for dissemination of detailed information about our program to all potential trainees, including those belonging to underrepresented minorities. By training M.D.s and Ph.D.s in state-of-the-art dermatological research at both the basic and clinical / translational levels, we will maximize the clinical impact of research, enhance the abilities of our trainees to teach future physicians, and increase the basic knowledge upon which our specialty increasingly depends.
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