The motivation for creation of this training program is the emergence and maturation of the field of regenerative medicine, especially as it relates to musculoskeletal disease. Investigational focus will be on the reconstitution of injured or missing musculoskeletal tissues with cells and small molecules embedded in a bioscaffold or matrix that possesses a nanostructure similar to that of the native tissue. We will focus training efforts on both the pre- and post-doctoral level trainees, the latter involving both Ph.D.s and M.D.s, intent on a career in interdisciplinary academic medicine in the general area of regenerative-restorative medicine. The first primary goal will be to provide trainees with combinatorial skill sets in 1) stem cell and developmental biology, 2) molecular genetics, 3) tissue engineering and materials science, 4) state-of the-art technologies in high-throughput, large scale computational science and 5) clinical-translational medicine that can be layered on top of their preceding undergraduate and graduate training in one of these areas. The second primary goal will be to educate trainees in an integrated approach to regenerative medicine with hands-on project-oriented teaching in how to i] build, ii] operate in and iii] modify a multidisciplinary team of colleagues. We will create and maintain an Interdisciplinary Institute of Musculoskeletal Regenerative Medicine (IIMSRM) composed of a tripartite team of 1) a training faculty, 2) a clinical faculty mentor and 3) a trainee. This team approach will ensure that the trainees will receive a comprehensive bench-to-bedside experience in what is required to actualize a bioengineered therapeutic in real world terms. This translational research structure will be supported by a robust collection of didactic curricula and seminar series, designed to introduce and refine the skills needed by both pre- and post-doctoral trainees to understand, design, compose, undertake and earn extramural financial support for a research project in regenerative medicine. The IIMSRM research and didactic training program is designed to provide individual trainees two years of support in preparation for their transition into more specialized training and alternative sources of support.
of the educational and research initiatives in this training program to the health of Americans encompasses the need to train the next generation of biomedical scientists in i) the application of 'cutting edge' conceptual and technical strategies to musculoskeletal regenerative medicine and ii) the multidisciplinary, team approach required use those strategies from the laboratory to the bedside.
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