This application is for the renewal of a post-doctoral training grant at the University of Minnesota in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism that has been in existence since 1977. The long- standing goal of this program has been to prepare physicians and graduates of PhD programs for successful research careers in academic medicine. This preparation has been centered upon the critical interaction between the trainee and the research mentor. All mentors in this program have national or international reputations in their respective areas and have strong track records in mentoring. Their efforts are supported by a strong administrative structure that encourages trainees to be deliberate in obtaining the skills they will need to become independent investigators. This structure also regularly evaluates and monitors the success of the trainee and the overall program as well as supports the development of a highly interactive relationship between the trainee and mentor. The particular research strengths of our faculty include cellular metabolism and genetics;endocrinology and signaling;neurobiology and appetite regulation of obesity;stem cell biology, autoimmunity, and b-cell biology;and clinical aspects of endocrine disease. Most of our faculty are located in the clinical and basic departments within the Medical School, but new faculty from the School of Public Health and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences will participate in this training program over the next five years. Applicants for program come from leading Universities and Medical Schools from around the world. Our trainees have all either completed a residency program in internal medicine in the United States or received a PhD in a biological science at a major research University before enrolling in this fellowship. In this application, we request an increase in the number of our post-doctoral fellowship positions from three to four each year so we can support more PhD trained scientists interested in endocrinology as a career while continuing our long standing commitment to training physician scientists. These positions will be used to provide two years of support for 2 MD trained and two years of support for 2 PhD trained post-doctoral fellows selected for their outstanding potential to become leading scientists in diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism each year.
This research training program will prepare physician and PhD trained post-doctoral fellows to become investigators in the area of diabetes, endocrinology, and metabolism. We are experiencing an epidemic of diabetes and obesity worldwide and in the United States more than half of the population may be affected by these endocrine/metabolic diseases. Our public health demands that talented scientists determine why these diseases occur and develop new ways to prevent and treat them. As a result of the education and training obtained in this program, our fellows will be prepared to address these problems and improve the public health.
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