This application seeks continued funding of the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP), a North American research training program originally funded in 1986 and renewed in 1991, 1996, and 2001. The PSDP is a multi-institutional career development program, sponsored by the Association of Medical School Pediatric Department Chairs (AMSPDC), that provides two years of full-time, uninterrupted research training for young pediatricians in the US and Canada who are committed to academic careers in basic, translational, or clinical research. Recruitment focuses on third year pediatric residents (PL-3's) with well-honed clinical skills but with little or no research experience; candidates nominated as residents enter PSDP training after the clinical fellowship year. The primary goal of the program is to expand the cadre of superbly trained academic pediatricians conversant with cutting-edge developments in human biology. Over the past 19 years, 132 qualified candidates have entered the PSDP; of these, 24 who entered in 2003-2005 remain in training, and 108 have graduated. An additional eight fellows will enter in July 2006. Since the inception of the program, 64% of fellows are male, 36% are female, and 18.5% are minorities. Of the 108 graduates, 54 have obtained K/R/P/U-level awards from the NIH, for a funding rate of 50%. Seventeen of 39 women and nine of 20 minority fellows have held or now hold K/R/P/U-level awards from the NIH, for funding rates of 44% (women) and 45% (minorities). Fellows entering during the past five years have published first-authored papers in Science, Journal of Immunology, Nature Genetics, PNAS, Journal of Experimental Medicine, and Developmental Cell, among other top-tier journals. Current data indicate that the funding rate for MD's at NIH is ~35%. Several unique aspects of the PSDP contribute to the substantially improved funding rate for our MD and MD/PhD graduates: highly selective admissions process; intense involvement of pediatric department chairs and superb scientific mentors, often outside the home department; proscription of all clinical duties during the research years; twice yearly reviews and annual career development sessions; and opportunity for a third year of funding. A doubling of applications that begain in 2000 has continued unabated. The Pediatric Scientist Development Program is flourishing, and its graduates have continued to make notable advances in the field of biomedicine. ? ? ?
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