The long-term objective of this application, submitted in response to RFA HD-98-004 is to establish a Women's Reproductive Health Research Development Center at CWRU School of Medicine that will focus on maternal physiology and its role in fetal growth regulation in the human. To attain this goal, a core group of NIH funded, established investigators with strong track records of scientific accomplishment in genetics, metabolism, physical activity, nutrition, pharmacology, and growth regulation have been recruited to provide clinicians with the additional skills necessary for a productive research career. Three interested individuals will be recruited as WRHR Scholars from Ob/Gyn and Maternal-Fetal-Medicine training programs and junior faculty throughout the United States with special emphasis on minority candidates. Each Scholar will be involved in the training program for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 5 years. The diversity of faculty interest and expertise will be coupled with a core program in statistics, scientific writing, and grant preparation to assure that the Center's 2 specific aims are met. First, to provide many of the ancillary skills needed to become productive, funded, academicians in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Second, to provide a highly focused, guided, clinical and/or basic science research experience in an area of their interest in order to develop the tools, the desire and the independence necessary to become successful investigators. The Center will be organized into administrative, research and educational components. The administrative component will deal with recruitment, laboratory placement and semi-annual Scholar evaluation. The research component's resources include two active Obstetrical Services, a General Clinical Research Center, and a Perinatal Emphasis Research Center as well as the laboratories of the participating faculty. The educational component's resources include an experienced faculty, excellent libraries and currently existing courses in scientific writing and statistics that are designed for clinicians. Such an environment and approach capitalizes on many of the existing strengths in reproductive biology at the School of Medicine and certainly will foster both new areas of scientific inquiry and the development of clinician-scientists in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
