The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), in collaboration with Duke University and the Hamner-UNC Institute for Drug Safety Sciences (IDSS), has a successful T32 training program in clinical pharmacology that builds on our exceptional research environment with world-class programs in drug discovery, drug development, pediatric clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, and drug safety. We have an outstanding track record of training clinician-scientists in clinical pharmacology and an excellent and diverse applicant pool with many more qualified applicants than funded positions. Our training program detailed in this renewal 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 is derived both from MDs in medical specialty training programs seeking a career path in clinical pharmacology and PharmDs in advanced clinical/translational research training. Trainees, guided by individualized mentoring teams, complete clinical pharmacology coursework and engage in program-specific activities to gain expertise in all aspects of contemporary clinical pharmacology research, from pharmacokinetics, pharmacometrics and pharmacogenomics to clinical trial design and ethics. Faculty mentors are chosen based on their research productivity in at least one of four focus areas that form the core of this training program: Drug Disposition and Action; Quantitative Pharmacology and Clinical Trial Design; Pharmacogenomics; Drug-induced Organ Toxicity. A unique feature of this training program is our focus on understudied areas in clinical pharmacology, specifically pediatrics and drug safety. The keen interest in clinical pharmacology within our trainee pool, the unparalleled investment in clinical pharmacology research resources at all three institutions, the intellectually-rich biomedical science environment of Research Triangle Park, 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 drug disposition and 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 diverse clinical pharmacologists that will be well-trained to lead the effort to capitalize on these great opportunities.
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