This application proposes the successful continuation of the Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS (IRTPA) at Duke University where an outstanding group of basic scientists and clinical researchers are actively collaborating under the direction of the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). A large funding base (~$60.8M for HIV/AIDS research at Duke University) from diverse sources provides a wide range of opportunities for research with the scientists who comprise the IRTPA faculty. Over 24 years, our program has had considerable success, consistently filling all six training slots at a time. Ninety-seven percent of our 66 research trainees (28 MDs, 36 PhDs, 1 MD/PhD, 1 DO) have productive careers in academia, biomedical research, or public health. Two of our six current trainees are underrepresented minorities. These achievements reflect the careful selection of highly qualified and motivated young researchers, nurtured in an exceptionally rich training environment. Objectives and Rationale. Our vision going forward is to continue to provide an innovative program built upon state of the art interdisciplinary training with the goal of training the next generation of scientists who actively find solutions across multiple disciplines. Since the last re competition of this grant, we have further developed an innovative training program to equip postdoctoral scientists to be at the forefront of identifying solutions to persisting and new problems impacting persons living with HIV. Research Training Program. Trainees, engage in the program for two to three years appointments and choose from one of six Program tracks: I. HIV Immunology, II. HIV/Viral Pathogenesis, III. Adult Clinical HIV/Infectious Diseases, IV. Pediatric & Maternal-Child HIV, V. Global Health), or VI. Social and Behavioral Sciences and select from one or more Enrichment Opportunities: Duke Scholars in Molecular Medicine, Human Vaccines, Health Policy, Biomedical Engineering, and Computational Biology and Bioinformatics as part of their individualized training plan. In addition to the primary research program track and optional selected enrichment opportunities, trainees must complete required training activities: Training in Responsible Conduct of Research, Training in Human and Animal Research, Scientific Writing, Grant Development, Weekly Journal Clubs, Training in Presentation Skills, State of the Art Technology Training, Data Integrity, and Statistics for Biomedical Sciences. With this award, we anticipate training another 13 post-doctoral MD and PHD level researchers to lead interdisciplinary HIV research efforts for the next generation.
Identifying solutions for HIV-1 and emerging global health problems requires combined expertise and collaboration among scientists. A new generation of scientists is needed who are trained across disciplines to enable real world solutions to complex problems. Efficiency and innovation in the detection, tracking, treatment and prevention of HIV-1 and other infectious diseases is made possible by investing in training young investigators to become facile in thinking and working across multiple disciplines to solve complex problems.
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