? This proposed supplement to the training program in dermatology will extend the current postdoctoral training in basic and clinical skin research to include predoctoral candidates. This supplemental program will fulfill a unique niche in dermatology because the training faculty have expertise in bioengineering, computer science and optics as well as biology and health services research. In the 3 years since this grant was funded under the current PI, the faculty have provided training in skin biology and immunology, computer science, optics, engineering and informatics. Skin biology-based studies are supported by diverse laboratory approaches involving enzymology, recombinant DNA technology, lipid biochemistry and gene regulation enabling a trainee to gain broad laboratory expertise. Trainees interested in health services research train in collaboration with the Department of Community Medicine under the direction of Dr. Thomas Pearson. Finally, trainees interested in the interface between technology and medicine have the opportunity to study under the auspices of the Center For Future Health, where their research can focus on interdisciplinary applications for skin disease in collaboration with the faculty in Engineering, Optics and Computer Sciences. However, postdoctoral training is rare in these fields, so predoctoral support is needed to better entice such trainees to skin-oriented projects. The proposed supplemental predoctoral program is preferably five years in length with a focus on an academic career. Two additional slots are requested to augment the remaining term of the current training program. Highly qualified candidates will be selected from applicants applying directly to this research program, or through the predoctoral training programs of the Departments of Optics, Engineering and Computer Science who express an interest in skin research. The additional predoctoral slots are discussed in the context of the entire training program. ? ?
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