Trauma and sepsis are among the most important causes of morbidity and mortality in humans. The Pitt Trauma Research Training Program (Pitt TRTP) is focused on the training of physician-scientists and talented full-time PhDs in trauma, sepsis, and related pathobiological process including ischemia/reperfusion injury and wound healing. Progress in complex clinical fields such as trauma and sepsis requires investigative teams collectively possessing skills in diverse areas of research. These specialized research areas include, systems and computational biology, bench/translational research, and health services research, and thus require scientists capable of managing and evaluating large clinical data sets, other scientists facile with in silico simulations and computational strategies, other investigators skilled in reverse translating clinical observations into relevant preclinical models (both small and large animals), and finally, investigators well- versed in the design and execution of clinical trials in acutely ill trauma/surgical patients. To address these inter- and multidisciplinary needs, we have organized the Pitt TRTP around three core tracks: 1) the Surgical Outcomes, Health Services and Policy (SOHSP) Track; 2) The Systems Biology Track; and 3) the Bench/Translational Research Track. A Director with demonstrated expertise oversees each track, which in turn consists of expert faculty fully engaged with the program. These investigators have worked together for many years in collaborative, multidisciplinary teams. The Pitt TRTP leverages extensive local resources at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, including robust clinical and research programs in trauma, acute care surgery, Surgical Critical Care, and sepsis research; world-class clinical programs (from which the patient data and biobanks are procured), including three Level Trauma Centers which admit over 8,000 trauma and 4000 acute care surgery patients per year as well as carrying out multiple clinical trials in the setting of trauma and sepsis; collaborating departments with international expertise in computational and systems biology along with immunology; and extensive core facilities which support current- and next-generation ?omics? research.
By receiving dual training, these ?hybrid? surgeon-investigators will be equipped to not only identify the most pressing questions at the bedside, but to make discoveries that will underlie improvement in the care of the critically ill and injured patient.
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