(from the application): This is a competitive renewal application for a Rheumatology Training Grant that was last funded in 1976. The goal of this Training Program is to prepare qualified individuals for careers as independent investigators in areas of basic and clinical research related to problems in rheumatic diseases. Eligible M.D. candidates will generally have completed their clinical training in Rheumatology and must demonstrate a strong interest in research and in an academic career. Eligible Ph.D. candidates will have received their Ph.D. degree in Molecular Genetics, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Immunology, or a related area of the life sciences. The Training Program includes a structured series of basic science lectures and research conference designed to give trainees a conceptual framework in the relevant areas of biological sciences. M.D. trainees will also apply to be enrolled in a three month full time, intensive research training course offered by the University of Michigan Medical School. The laboratory training period will include at least two years of research experience, with minimum concurrent clinical commitments. All trainees will apply for individual externally funded fellowships, and the Training Program will be used to support trainees for one to two years until they are able to obtain external funding. The faculty mentors for this Training Program include eighteen M.D., Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. scientists with tenure track faculty appointment at the University of Michigan Medical School. Eleven of these faculty members have appointments in the Division of Rheumatology and seven are from other departments or divisions. Several faculty members have joint appointments in both clinical and basic science departments. The Training Program is also supported by collaborating faculty with clinical duties (both tenure track and non-tenure track), and by research faculty with non-tenure track appointments. The collaborating faculty will participate in the Training Program but will not serve as primary mentors for trainees. The areas of scientific expertise represented by the faculty mentors include immunology, biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular genetics, in fields of investigation related to current problems in rheumatic diseases. These research programs are supported by external research funding greater than $8 million and by more than 22,000 square feet of laboratory space. The Training Program benefits greatly from support of the University of Michigan Multipurpose Arthritis Center and the Specialized Center of Research in Rheumatoid Arthritis. There is close interaction with the training programs in Immunopathology, Geriatrics and Cellular and Molecular Biology. Emphasis over the past ten years on recruitment of outstanding female and minority trainees has resulted in graduation of such individuals into academic positions, and this emphasis will be continued. The University of Michigan Training Program in Rheumatology has a strong record of producing leaders in academic rheumatology and related areas of basic investigation. The faculty, facilities and training plan outlined in the current proposal should provide an excellent framework for augmenting these accomplishments.
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