This application is the competing continuation of our institutional training grant T32 MH 19986 (Years 6-10), Clinical Research Training in Late Life Mood Disorders. The nation continues to face a critical shortage in geriatric mental health researchers, particularly of physician scientists with research and clinical expertise in the mood disorders of old age. Accordingly, we propose to continue our two-year training program of postdoctoral clinical research training for six M.D.'s and Ph.D's. In addition, in order to attract more young physicians into the pipeline, we propose to continue our medical student summer research elective in geriatric psychiatry, which has successfully enrolled 20 rising second-year medical students during the current funding cycle. Because students have also expressed an interest in taking a year off from medical school to do geropsychiatric research, we are requesting one year-round pre-doctoral stipend annually to support such students. Our training grant activities take place within the Intervention Research Center for Late Life Mood Disorders (P30 MH52247-07) and encompass mentor-directed research, the acquisition of research survival skills, -- including the preparation of K award applications, -- didactic course work in neuroscience, intervention research, epidemiology and biostatistics; and grounding in biomedical research ethics. The Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh fosters many research career development activities for students and faculty at all levels. This training grant both contributes to, and benefits from, this developmental perspective.
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