This application seeks renewal of support for an interdisciplinary program of training in pain research at the University of Iowa. The Program has been highly successful in terms of increasing collaborations among trainers and mentoring pre- and postdoctoral trainees of exemplary quality to independent funding. The program will continue its focus on the cellular, molecular, pharmacological, physiological and anatomical mechanisms that subserve acute and chronic pain after injury. The 18 program faculty are NIH-funded investigators with complementary expertise in the fields of molecular, cellular and systems neurobiology. The trainers comprise a balanced representation of basic and physician scientists, as well as bench and patient-based research. Each trainer has a strong record of training both predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows and will also mentor a subset of junior trainers of great promise. Support is requested for two pre-doctoral trainees and two postdoctoral trainees for this award period. In line with our goal to facilitate translational research, the postdoctoral positions will be primarily targeted for M.D., M.D. Ph. D., R. N. Ph. D., P. T. Ph. D. or D. P. T. trainees. These individuals will particularly benefit from a period of protected time to learn the elements of research and/or to restart their research programs in advance of a faculty level appointment. A cadre of nurse scientists with established clinical and translational research programs in pain has been recruited to strengthen translational aspects of the training program. The training program provides a highly structured and diverse program of didactic coursework, including monthly seminars, weekly journal clubs and bi-weekly work - in - progress meetings, that is coupled with research training in a highly collaborative and interactive environment. All courses, as well as mechanisms of interaction and trainee evaluation are established. The overall goal of the training program is to provide our trainees with (1) an individualized curriculum that provide a solid knowledge base appropriate to their career plans; (2) rigorous training in the selements of scientific investigation including the formulation of research hypotheses, experimental design and analysis; (3) mastery of two to three research techniques; (4) opportunities to develop their verbal communication skills; (5) experience in the construction of manuscripts and grant proposals;and (6) the ability to interact and collaborate with basic and clinical investigators both within and outside the instition who are actively engaged in research. Trainees in this program will acquire the knowledge, experience, and skill sets necessary for successful transition to an independent research career in academia, industry of government.
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