? This training program in Musculoskeletal Biology involves 15 training faculty at the University of Minnesota. The goals of this new five-year program are to: 1) to train 11 predoctoral students and 4 postdoctoral fellows for research careers as basic scientists or clinical investigators studying the causes and treatments of musculoskeletal diseases, and 2) develop an educational environment for students and postdoctoral fellows which encompasses a modern spectrum of research in musculoskeletal diseases, including basic discovery, investigation of musculoskeletal disease models and study of outcomes of standard treatments. In the past five years, the University of Minnesota has invested considerable resources in the retention and recruitment of numerous talented, energetic and collaborative investigators interested in musculoskeletal biology. The training program thus boasts a group of highly qualified research mentors in state-of-the-art research environments, and thus provides an ideal modern setting for training young research scientists. The research strengths of the training program described in this application are in the areas of bone cancer biology and treatments (Clohisy, Mantyh, McCarthy, Oursler), clinical outcomes-based research and epidemiology for orthopaedic and bone cancer treatments (Robison, Swiontkowski, Saleh), osteoarthritis and cartilage biology (Carlson, Bechtold, LaPrade, Lewis, Pluhar), and molecular mechanisms of osteoblast development (Westendorf, Mauro, Verfaillie). Support is requested for 5 positions (3 predoctoral and 2 postdoctoral) during the first year of the program and for 6 slots (4 predoctoral and 2 postdoctoral) each during years 2 through 5. Predoctoral trainees that will be eligible for this training program will be accepted into one of ten existing degree or combined degree graduate programs that involve the training faculty. Postdoctoral fellows will be recruited by individual mentors and the residency programs of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and College of Veterinary Medicine. The training program will be integrated and enriched by a program of seminars, journal clubs, and joint group meetings. The primary goals of the program are to attract exceptional young scientists into the field of musculoskeletal biology and to assist their intellectual and technical development into productive and independent investigators interested in the mechanisms and treatment of musculoskeletal diseases. ? ?
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