The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), in collaboration with Duke University and the Hamner Institute for Drug Safety Sciences, is well positioned for a T32 training program in clinical pharmacology. We have an outstanding research environment in clinical pharmacology with world-class programs in pharmacogenomics, drug discovery, drug development and drug safety, an outstanding track record of training clinician-scientists in clinical pharmacology, and an excellent applicant pool. The clinical pharmacology training program detailed in this application offers strong leadership, internationally-recognized mentors from multiple disciplines who are actively involved in clinical pharmacology, a wide-array of cutting edge technologies and resources, and a uniquely collaborative environment with strong institutional support. The national applicant pool for this program will be derived primarily from MDs in medical specialty training programs seeking a career path in clinical pharmacology. Trainees, guided by individualized mentoring teams, will complete clinical pharmacology coursework and engage in program-specific activities to gain expertise in all aspects of contemporary clinical pharmacology research, from ethics and pharmacogenomics to clinical trial design. Faculty mentors were chosen based on their productivity in clinical pharmacology research in at least one of four focus areas that form the core of this training program: Drug Disposition and Action;Pharmacogenomics;Drug-induced Organ Toxicity;Quantitative Pharmacology and Clinical Trial Design. A unique feature of this training program is the opportunity to focus on understudied areas in clinical pharmacology, specifically pediatrics and drug safety. The keen interest in clinical pharmacology within our potential trainee pool, the unparalleled investment in clinical pharmacology research resources at UNC, Duke University, and the Hamner-UNC Institute for Drug Safety Sciences, the intellectually-rich regional environment represented by Research Triangle Park with its concentration of biomedical sciences related to clinical pharmacology, and our longstanding excellent research and training infrastructure combine to create a moment of unsurpassed opportunity for training in clinical pharmacology.
There has been an explosion in understanding of the biology underlying disease and interindividual variation in response to pharmacotherapy. This has provided unprecedented opportunities in drug development and the individualization of therapy to treat and ultimately cure disease. The proposed program will produce clinical pharmacologists that will be well-trained to lead the effort to capitalize on these great opportunities.
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