This renewal proposal requests five additional years of support (years 38-43) for the University of California, Los Angeles Training Grant in Gastroenterology. Support is sought to maintain the trainees at the same level: six (either MD's or PhD's). One additional NIH minority supplement will be requested as needed. These trainees will be recruited from the UCLA STAR (Specialized Training in Academic Research), the UCLA Affiliated Fellowship Training Program in Gastroenterology, or from UCLA affiliated Ph.D. training programs. This NIH T32 Training Grant has been funded continuously since 1974, and Dennis M. Jensen, M.D. has been the PI/Director since 2000. In the last 10 years of this training grant, 30 trainees have been (or will soon be) enrolled. 23 have completed this T32 training and 1 will be finishing June 30, 2010. These 24 T32 trainees included 20 MD's, 2 PhD's, and 2 MD/PhD's. For the 23 T32 trainees who have previously finished participation in this grant, 100% completed at least 2 years of research training, and 61% obtained further support for research and/or career development. For the 57% with further career development awards, these included 22 % with one or more independent NIH awards (as K08 or K23 grants);4% who received VA awards (VA HSR&D), and 31% who were awarded other career development awards (CCFA, ADHF, or California Cancer Institute). Of the 24 T32 trainees who will have graduated by July 2010, 96% published at least one peer- reviewed research paper. For those who published, the median number of publications per trainee of research performed during their T32 years was 6 (range 2 - 63). For these 24 trainees, additional degrees completed during T32 training are 4 PhD's and 7 Master degrees (MS or MPH). Among the 23 trainees who have already completed all their post-MD training, 16 (70%) now hold academic or research appointments and positions. The administrative structure of the Training Grant has evolved during the past 10 years to maximize productivity and satisfaction plus emphasize successful career paths for all trainees. The leadership of this training grant is well balanced. The PI is a clinical and outcomes researcher, one co-PI is a basic scientist (Stephen Pandol, MD), and the other is a translational researcher (Peter Anton, MD). The Executive Committee of the Training Grant ensures that all research trainees are closely supervised and allowed to give feed-back throughout their career development. Trainees are exposed to formal courses and research seminars to expand their scientific knowledge base. The UCLA STAR program has the added dimension of requiring Masters or Ph.D. degrees as part of the research training and career development. This training serves as the foundation and model for a highly evolved and successful UCLA Research Training Program in Gastroenterology. Continued support is needed to maintain the quality and productivity of this program which is training future academicians in digestive diseases.
This training grant supports post-graduate mentored research for the next generation of academic leaders and researchers in digestive diseases and gastroenterology (GI). Digestive complaints, disorders, and diseases are very common in the United States and highly relevant to the public health because they cause significant morbidity and health care costs for them are very high. Improvements in our understanding and knowledge of digestive disorders and discovery in this field have the potential of significantly improving public health.
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