This application requests support for post-doctoral training in surgical oncology research. The Vanderbilt Department of Surgery has had a continuing commitment to mentored research for both resident research fellows and junior surgical oncology research faculty. Given the rapid pace and complexity of both basic and clinical research, it is imperative to provide trainees with the requisite armamentarium of investigative skills during post-doctoral training. The establishment of both research proficiency and a pattern of mentored training are critical for the promotion of successful academic career pathways. Importantly, we have sought to configure a multidisciplinary training program to allow development of investigators along basic, patient-oriented or clinical research tracks. All three of these research paradigms are considered crucial to the success of broad-based cancer related investigation. The objective of this program is to prepare surgical residents and post-doctoral fellows for investigative careers in research fields related to surgical oncology. To those committed to at least two years of intensive training in either basic or clinical research, the program seeks to provide a mentored training environment necessary for the development of experience and proficiency in investigative techniques and reasoning. Each fellow will receive guidance from both a central program committee as well as individualized advisory committees. For those interested in basic science research training, opportunities for mentored investigation are available in the laboratories of scientists with broad interests in cancer biology. In addition to bench research training, fellows in the basic research track will participate in didactic course work as determined by the individual advisory committees. Fellows interested in patient-oriented research training will pursue a Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI). The MSCI program combines broad didactic coursework with a mentored research experience focused on patient related material or therapeutic intervention. Finally, those interested in epidemiological or outcomes research will pursue a Masters of Public Health (MPH). The MPH program combines didactic coursework in clinical epidemiology with a mentored clinical research project. These three training tracks allow fellows to pursue pathways best suited to their career objectives. This proposal seeks to fund the support of up to four fellows phased in over 5 years. The proposal would support both salary costs as well as the costs of didactic training. This program would provide substantive support for the continuing endeavors at Vanderbilt to provide young clinician investigators with the training requisite for the continued pursuit of research in academic surgical oncology across the entire spectrum of basic and clinical investigation.
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