The Southwestern Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center will include as a key component a Sickle Cell Scholar Program. The purpose of this program will be to offer comprehensive multi-disciplinary training to postdoctoral professionals who desire to excel at a career in investigation, teaching, and patient care involving sickle cell disease. The milieu at UT Southwestern and its affiliated institutions for providing such training is outstanding. For over a decade the Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Program at UT Southwestern has been the recipient of a T32 Institutional NRSA Training Grant from the National Cancer Institute and has successfully trained 16 young physicians as pediatric hematology oncology specialists. The well-developed and effective infrastructure that has been established for this fellowship program - which has been directed by Dr. George R. Buchanan (the proposed Center Director and Scholar Program Mentor) - will be employed for the Sickle Cell Scholar Program as well. In addition, resources in the Department of Pediatrics and UT Southwestern as a whole will be used as a part of the scholars' training, including involvement in the NIH K30 Curriculum Award Program and School of Public Health. Individuals from all disciplines, whether or not they have previously received training at UT Southwestern or another participating Center institution in Texas and Oklahoma, are eligible, and an active recruitment effort is planned with particular emphasis on recruiting and training minority scientists. A Scholar Selection Committee and Scholar Advisory Committee will identify and nominate candidates and then guide them and monitor their progress. The proposed Southwestern Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center is well positioned to train tomorrow's leaders in sickle cell research.
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