Current trends in the health care delivery system and their impact on the gastroenterology research community have resulted in a shortage of clinical and basic science investigators in this field. Fortunately, this negative circumstance has begun to lessen in the past few years and higher quality applicants in larger numbers are applying to Gastroenterology Fellowship programs. This encouraging change, combined with a) the need for increasing the limited pool of physicians/scientists and b) the track record of the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology in training academic gastroenterologists provides the impetus for submission of this proposal. We believe that with the proven commitment of the GI Division, Department of Medicine, and Medical College of Wisconsin to advances in research and education, the timing is right and the GI Division is ready to contribute formally in the training of research oriented academic gastroenterologists. The objective of the proposed training grant therefore is to rigorously train and prepare the interested fellows for a research career in academic gastroenterology. To achieve this goal we have designed a multidisciplinary program based on a long history of multidisciplinary collaboration between faculty investigators from the GI Division, Biophysics Institute, Neurology, Otolaryngology and Physical Medicine Departments at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The program offers training in two understudied areas of gastrointestinal research with paramount clinical significant, both in terms of human suffering and health care resource utilization. The proposed training grant benefits from a) the support, enthusiasm and commitment of our strong program faculty who are prepared to devote adequate time, energy and their laboratory resources to the successful training of the next generation of researchers with the multidisciplinary knowledge and skills necessary for investigators of the areas of GI research that cross the traditional boundaries of single disciplines and b) structured training program in 1) upper GI and aerodigestive tract sensory motor function and their functional relationship and 2) neurogastroenterology and grain-gut interaction.
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