This R25 application responds to the NIMH RFA, """"""""Training Future Mental Health Clinical Researchers,"""""""" and seeks to establish a new educational clinical research training program in psychiatric genetics. The overall aim of the proposed training program is to fill a gap in the post-doctoral training opportunities available in clinical research. Currently, it is difficult for a young scientist to acquire a focused training in psychiatric genetics. There are many excellent training programs that focus on components of the psychiatric genetics curriculum, but few that provide complete training in all areas of this discipline. The Executive Director of this training program has worked in the field of psychiatric genetics for over three decades, and has created an extensive research infrastructure that has brought together a variety of independent investigators who have long collaborated together in productive efforts to understand the genetic basis of psychiatric disorders. The training and development of new investigators has always been a cornerstone of our collective efforts. In this proposal, we seek to formalize our commitment to prepare future generations of independent researchers by creating a comprehensive, multidisciplinary post-doctoral training program to provide promising young mental health clinicians with the tools needed to pursue clinical research in psychiatric genetics. The goals of the program are: 1) To create a coherent didactic and experiential post-doctoral training program in psychiatric 2) To implement this training program using faculty from multiple disciplines: psychiatry, psychology, statistical genetics, molecular genetics, behavioral genetics, neuropsychology and neuroscience; and 3) To evaluate this program by assessing the ability of trainees to attain the following goals during their training: a) maintenance of a 3.5 grade point average in didactic courses; b) publication of two papers per year and c) submission and funding of a competitive grant application. Finally, we will seek to create a training infrastructure that will allow students to benefit from the rapid advances of science and technology on the one hand, and their ethical, legal and social consequences, on the other.
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