The University of Rochester's Department of Neurology has a long and productive history of training post- residency physicians and other post-doctoral clinical neuroscientists to be leaders in the Experimental Therapeutics of Neurological Disease (ETND Training Program). There has never been a more exciting time to translate neuroscience discoveries into clinical trials and clinical care. Translating these advances into improved clinical care for patients requires a cadre of specialty-trained clinician neuroscientists who are responsive to the increasing pace of scientific discoveries, the growing burden of neurological disease, as well as to the emerging suite of approaches and techniques to accelerate therapeutic development. The 2-3 years integrated ETND Training Program, now in its 29th year, has responded to this global challenge in several ways. We will expand our world-class roster of Program Faculty (from 18 to 38) to include 26 ?Established? Mentors and 12 ?Emerging? Mentors, to provide a rich and diverse training environment across the increasingly subspecialized fields within neurology. In addition, we will appoint a Lead Biostatistician to serve on the Executive Committee, expand the number of biostatistician mentors (from 2 to 5), and strengthen the scientific rigor of training. We will develop a competency-based curriculum covering core didactics in experimental therapeutics, which is customized to the individual needs and goals of each trainee. We will develop an ?advanced topics? curriculum (novel study designs, emerging statistical issues, innovations in outcome measurement, novel recruitment approaches, and emerging ethical topics) that will be integrated through program-wide meetings, including Working Group in Clinical Research, a Mellow Fellows seminar and a new program faculty and alumni-funded Annual Lectureship in Experimental Therapeutics. These activities will enhance the trainee's quantitative literacy/mindset when developing their research projects. Training will occur in a structured environment with a 3-4 members mentor team (including an Established and Biostatistical Mentor) and guided by a Research Career Development Plan. Mentorship will be provided for research projects (pilot studies, secondary data analyses, and collaborative studies), peer-reviewed publications, oral presentation skills, grant preparation (structured internal grant review and feedback mechanism), and career guidance. In this application, support is sought for 4 post-residency trainees per year with 2-4 new trainees accepted into the program annually. Recruitment and career development plans focus on diversity including women, the disabled and underrepresented minorities by developing a diverse and inclusive environment, targeted outreach, and feedback from a Diversity External Advisory Committee. The training program infrastructure is also utilized by trainees supported by other funding sources, so that a class of 6-12 fellows are training at any given time. This program will train the next generation of independently funded leaders in the experimental therapeutics of neurological disease who will transform the research landscape and accelerate therapeutic development for patients and families.
The neurology community has seen extraordinary successes and tremendous breakthroughs in the treatment of neurological disorders. Translating these advances into improved clinical care for patients requires a cadre of specialty-trained clinician neuroscientists who are to be responsive to the increasing pace of scientific discoveries, as well as to the emerging suite of approaches and techniques. This program will train the next generation of leaders in the experimental therapeutics of neurological disease, in order to accelerate therapeutic development and improve access to emerging breakthroughs for all patients and families who may benefit.
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