This application is for the Department of Psychiatry to establish a 4-year resident research training track (RRTT) to run alongside the general psychiatry residency program. Our plan is driven by the recent Institute of Medicine report that recommends dedicated psychiatry research training as a partial solution to reversing the low number of psychiatrist researchers. Our RRTT will emphasize molecular arid translational neuroscience, because that is the strength of a considerable portion of our outstanding Faculty. We will actively recruit residents whose research interests match our strengths. The R25 will allow us to modify the general psychiatry residency and enrich the research literacy and experience of residents not in the RRTT The significance of this application is that at the end of five years (residency + Fellowship) the field will receives 10 highly qualified researchers trained in the most modern techniques of neuroscience and psychiatry The RRTT provides a clear progression for each resident toward independence in order to consolidate their future success. These individuals will be trained to approach research questions with potential clinical applications as an essential end point of their work. Their research experiences wilI be in laboratories whose programs are often linked to other world-renown laboratories around the campus. The innovative aspects of this application are: (i) its outstanding Faculty who have a long history of mentoring researchers to become independent investigators, (ii) a research experience that is tailored to each RRTT resident's needs including access to external experts in their laboratories or invited onto campus, and (iii) an active evaluation and oversight of the program, by the administrative staff of the RRTT. The evaluation will include setting clear goals and outcomes, and the performance of the RRTT will be reviewed internally and by an external panel so as to constantly improve the RRTT and the residency program. At the end of the funding period we will publish an article on the positive and negative experiences of the program we are proposing.
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