The greatest challenge to medicine is to bring to the bedside the latest developments in contemporary science. This challenge can only be met by developing a cadre of investigators who can conduct high quality research that is geared to strengthen patient-oriented investigations. Hence, this training grant proposal seeks support to prepare individuals (MD, MD/PhD, or PhD) for a career in biomedical science as it relates to Rheumatology. The program is based in a large Division of Rheumatology with 30 faculty members including 14 federally funded investigators and active clinical and basic research programs. The Division of Rheumatology, including its related clinics, is part of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA with its clinical and biomedical science departments. The primary faculty advisors come not only from divisions within the Department of Medicine but also from the Departments of Pathology, Microbiol/lmmunol /Mol. Genetics, Pharmacology, and School of Public Health. The broad areas of expertise covered include autoimmunity, basic immunology, clinical intervention and therapeutics, genomics, gene expression and therapy, and health quality, economics and policy. The program is well supported by core facilities as well as by academic courses and a campus-wide translational immunology program initiated by the PI. It is believed that this Rheumatology program provides unique resources and will continue to enlarge the pool of individuals with a career interest in research as it relates to the subspecialty, a pool that is far too small to meet the requirements of the next decades as molecular medicine is increasingly applied in the clinic. The first year of the fellowship program consists of extensive clinical training and is funded through local sources. During the 2nd and 3rd years, the trainee will work in his/her chosen area of research, while maintaining sufficient clinical activity to fulfill the specialty board requirements. The trainees desiring and/or requiring experience to make the transition to academic investigator will be funded through the proposed T32 and for those who elect PhD or Master's curricula, through the UCLA STAR (Specialty Training in Advanced Research) program. This application seeks support for the critical 2-year period which transitions the trainee from her/his initial clinical rheumatology experience to a career in academic rheumatology. The application also seeks two-year training support for non-clinical postdoctoral trainees who desire to train in Rheumatology to develop an academic research career in the subspecialty.
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