The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) is committed to clinical research and the education of future clinical investigators. A Clinical Research Education Office (CREO) was recently established under the Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Medicine to further enhance clinical research education, in close association with the NIH-supported General Clinical Research Center (GCRC) and the Office of Educational Development (OED). The CREO Director is also Associate Director of the GCRC, and since 1993 has developed an extensive GCRC Curriculum, now co-sponsored by the CREO. A new Ph.D. Curriculum in Clinical Science is intended primarily for physicians, including clinical fellows, who have decided that clinical research is an important part of their career plans. With K-30 grant support, the CREO will create a team of faculty research educators who will develop new courses for these two core curricula. The CREO will also initiate and/or assist with other new research education activities for students, clinical trainees and faculty that are complementary to the main focus of this project. Our educational team will have a revolving membership with faculty supported by the grant during their development of new educational activities. After 2-3 years, they will continue their teaching with institutional support as these activities have become established. Hence grant support can be offered to other faculty members in the later years to undertake other educational initiatives. The activities of this team will be coordinated and supported by the CREO staff, including a Clinical Research Education Coordinator with a background and experience in education. The CREO staff and faculty will also provide assistance with a number of other research education activities including an elective GCRC-based course and clinical research experience for medical students; training of non-M.D. graduate students in clinical research; clinical research experience for post-doctoral and clinical fellows; distance learning activities with research education modules; an integrated faculty development program that will focus on research training; and a centralized clinical trials unit that will have clinical research education as a major priority. The CREO team of educators will make possible significant expansion in research education at all levels, with direct benefits at UTMB in research enhancement and research training. We also hope that our program will, like the GCRC-CREO Curriculum component, become a model for other institutions that plan to develop their research education programs at all training levels.
