The Endocrine Training Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, directed by Dr. Barbara Kahn, trains MD, MD/PhD and PhD postdoctoral candidates in research areas of endocrinology, diabetes, and metabolism. The goal of the program is to foster the development of trainees into independent investigators who will excel in scientific investigation and succeed in obtaining faculty positions in major universiy medical schools. A secondary goal is to provide a rigorous scientific foundation for fellows who will go on to careers as clinician-educators. The research faculty for the endocrine program is an experienced group of investigators, all of whom are Harvard Medical School faculty members involved in the comprehensive study of obesity, diabetes, the metabolic syndrome, thyroid physiology, thyroid hormone action, nuclear receptor action, neuroendocrinology and signal transduction. The faculty is comprised of basic scientists and clinical scientists who work together to train fellows to investigate research questions at the molecular and physiological levels. The collaborative nature of the faculty is evidenced by multiple joint publications and shared research core facilities as part of the Boston area NIH-funded Nutrition-Obesity Research Centers and Diabetes Endocrinology Research Centers. Trainees are provided an opportunity to learn from the collective expertise of the faculty in the areas of hormone action, regulation of gene expression, adipocyte biology, animal physiology, sophisticated transgenic and gene targeting approaches to endocrine and metabolic disorders, neuroanatomy and neurophysiology, research in human subjects, and strategies for novel treatment modalities. Our trainees have an outstanding record of obtaining independent funding and promotion to faculty positions. These funded investigators now participate in the training of fellows in this and other Programs in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism. Since the last competitive renewal of this grant, the Division has added new, talented faculty and expanded its research space and core facilities. In particular, the program is strongly supported by core facilities at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, Mass Spectrometry, Flow Cytometry, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics, and Transgenic mouse generation. The program has further formalized its curriculum in the Responsible Conduct of Research. The success of the trainees reflects the outstanding quality of this Endocrine Training Program.
The current epidemic of obesity and diabetes sweeping the American populace has heightened the need for well-trained academic endocrinologists who can address the problem with clinical, translational, and basic science approaches. The Endocrine Training Program at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center has a long record of accomplishment in producing such scientists. The undiminished tide of metabolic disease underscores the importance of continuing the vital activities of this Training Program.
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