This is a 5-year competitive renewal of an institutional post-doctoral research training program in interventions research in children and adolescents with major mental disorders. The program will serve to address the shortage of well-trained clinical researchers in this field.
The specific aims of the proposed program are to train clinical researchers in the following areas of interventions research with youth: efficacy studies evaluating new medication and/or psychosocial treatments; effectiveness studies of empirically supported treatments applied in diverse populations and settings; evaluation of safety and adverse effects of psychotropic medications, particularly during long-term treatment; and related areas of study as they pertain to interventions research--instrument development, functional neuroimaging, and outcomes assessment strategies. The program faculty includes 6 primary mentors and 6 secondary mentors who have extensive experience in training and mentoring post-doctoral fellows and an established funded research portfolio. The training program is located in the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, with active collaborations elsewhere in the School of Medicine, the School of Public Health and the Kennedy Krieger Institute, an institution devoted to children with developmental disabilities. The training program, which draws upon our experience over the past 4 years, will have 5 positions, and will include Ph.D.s (for 2 years of training) and M.D.s (for 3 years). Recruitment of underrepresented minorities will be emphasized. Training consists of: 1) core coursework to ensure a basic understanding of the principles of research methods, design and statistics; 2) supervised clinical research in collaboration with a primary mentor, 3) an individual research project to generate pilot data for a successful career development award or other NIH grant application, 4) research seminars that involve study proposal reviews/critiques, didactics/formal presentations, and a journal club; and 5) attendance and presentations at national professional meetings. The training will occur in a supportive environment of multidisciplinary researchers who are committed to research mentoring. This training program is thoughtfully organized to produce a cadre of graduates who will become productive independent interventions researchers in child and adolescent major mental disorders.
Showing the most recent 10 out of 12 publications
