This is a new application developed as part of the NIH Roadmap and submitted in response to RFA-RM-05-015 Predoctoral Clinical Research Training Programs. This application will provide WashingtonUniversity School of Medicine (WUSM) with the funds necessary to promote clinical research trainingamong predoctoral students in several fields: medicine, physical therapy, occupational therapy,audiology, social work, and biomedical engineering. Our long-term objective is to utilize this funding topromote the career development of nascent health-care professionals who will become outstandingpatient-oriented researchers. The overall goal of this proposal is to enhance interdisciplinary training inpatient-oriented research.
The Specific Aims of this proposal are: (1) to provide predoctoral studentseducational courses that teach the fundamentals of clinical research; (2) to provide positive hands-onclinical research experiences; and (3) to stimulate interest in clinical research and to increase thenumber and quality of medical students and other health-care professionals in clinical research training.We shall achieve these aims by a tripartite approach: identifying talented predoctoral students; providingthem with existing and new coursework focusing on clinical research design, biostatistics, ethical andlegal aspects of clinical research, and scientific writing; and immersing them in clinical research. Totake advantage of existing didactic capabilities, we have coordinated the course work with a newlyfunded K30 Program. We will offer 24 training slots per year: a dozen two-month summer researchexperiences, and a dozen 12-month immersion programs leading to a MA degree. The innovativeprogram proposes to emphasize interdisciplinary team building, in part, by promoting a collaborativeresearch model whereby clinical research trainees pair with another trainee (as well as at least onementor) for their practicum research program. WUSM offers a number of unique research trainingopportunities that make it an ideal location for training patient-oriented researchers. To fosterinterdisciplinary, cross-departmental clinical research, Washington University has committed millions ofdollars to a new Division of Clinical Sciences. The proposed T32 Program along with our new K30Program, in conjunction with this supportive institutional environment and outstanding research faculty,will allow us to train the next generation of outstanding patient-oriented researchers. The recentsuccess of our K30 application and the addition of the proposed T32 funding will catalyze WUSM'sincreasing development of outstanding patient-oriented research.
