The Arizona Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Training Program grant (ACAMRTP) is a five-year T32 proposal to establish a rigorous predoctoral and postdoctoral interdisciplinary educational program for investigators preparing for a career in CAM and integrative medicine (IM) research (clinical outcomes, epidemiology, health services, methodology, mechanisms).
Specific Aims of the Program are: 1) To identify and recruit as fellows qualified applicants, drawn from a range of primary disciplines that are relevant to a CAM/IM approach. 2) To offer a structured and directed training program fellowship that will include clear primary and secondary scientific and academic goals, regular constructive interactions with faculty mentors, thoughtful scientific criticism of the work of the fellows, and support for presentations and submission of results for publication. 3) To ground fellows in an interdisciplinary integrative medicine approach to disease prevention and treatment and wellness through formal coursework and seminar series, conferences, interactions with scientific mentors, and research projects that are integrated into a comprehensive program. The ACAMRTP will involve a combination of core seminars, practicum research experiences, independent research projects, and completion of formal degree programs (MS, MPH, PhD) or a certificate program in clinical research (K30-based two-year program). Training programs will be tailored to individual trainee needs and will require two to three years for completion. A two- to three-month short-term research experience is also available for students in clinical professional doctoral programs. A team mentoring approach will involve campus-wide University of Arizona faculty with relevant methodological expertise, CAM research funding and/or experience, as well as CAM practitioner affiliate faculty expertise from community resource in the greater Tucson and Phoenix areas. The mentoring committees will facilitate integrative education for trainees and new collaborative research opportunities among the diverse T32 faculty. The Program Director brings both MD and PhD training and many years of interdisciplinary research experience in CAM-related topics to the training program. The Program Coordinator enriches the ACAMRTP with extensive experience as a practicing naturopathic physician and MPH background. Trainees who complete the ACAMRTP will have strong focused preparation as academic researchers in a specific area of CAM/IM as well as familiarity with the broad methodological issues in and potential tools for designing scientifically sound CAM/IM studies. Program evaluation will examine the long-term professional success of graduate trainees in terms of academic productivity and impact on the CAM/IM research field.
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