This is our first competing renewal for this institutional training grant in Hematologic and Oncologic Diseases of Childhood at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital which is jointly sponsored by NHLBI and NICHD. We initially proposed to focus on training in translational and clinical research with the intent of recruiting more women and minorities for academic careers. We were highly successful as three of five fellows recruited to date have been women and two have been minority candidates. Moreover, the two female fellows who have """"""""graduated"""""""", one of whom is also a minority trainee, are both in junior faculty positions in Departments of Pediatrics where they are actively engaged in clinical research. We are now asking to continue training physician/scientists who will contribute to improved diagostic, treatment and prevention strategies for children with blood diseases and malignancies. We seek to add one position for a PhD fellow because we have come to realize how important basic scientists are to successful translational and clinical research. We plan to continue to focus on recruiting and training women in our program because, like many pediatric subspecialty training programs, our Department of Pediatrics at Iowa recruits more women than men into residency, but loses most women from the ranks of fellows who obtain subspecialty training and pursue a career in academic medicine. Reversing this loss of talent in academia is crucial to training the next generation of physicians and scientists who will focus on improving care for children with hematologic and oncologic diseases. We therefore propose the following specific aims to accomplish our goals: 1. Expand opportunities for trainees to pursue academic careers with a focus on hematologic and malignant diseases of childhood. 2. Provide trainees with the opportunity to obtain a Master's degree or non-degree certification in either translational or clinical medicine. 3. Recruit and train women and minority candidates for successful careers that will benefit children with hematologic and oncologic disorders.
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