The goal of this T32 program, entitled Research in Alimentary Tract Surgery, is to enhance the professional development and research capabilities of new surgeon-scientists and postgraduate-level PhDs, with a specific interest in academic careers related to the study of digestive disease. This unique program will take advantage of three already-established research focus groups (RFGs) that straddle the Departments of Surgery, Molecular Genetics, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Pathology and Developmental Biology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. These RFGs cover the thematic core areas of Epithelial Pathobiology, GI Oncology, and Adaptation/Developmental Biology. Each RFG is led by an NIH-funded surgeon-scientist in the Department of Surgery as well as an independent NIH-funded basic investigator who share responsibility for creating the structured environment in which the intellectual rigor of laboratory investigation is enriched by the clinical perspective of surgical practice, thus providing both a broad and deep training experience that emphasizes translational potential and scholarly achievement. The training program centers on a supervised laboratory research project directed by a core or adjunct preceptor with oversight by the RFG co-directors. The research is supplemented by didactic coursework commensurate with the trainee's prior experience, and an organized program of seminars and research conferences that will enhance core knowledge base as well as skills in hypothesis formation, experimental design, grant preparation, and oral/written presentation of results. Extensive resources and core facilities are available for trainees, and special efforts are made to attract candidates from underrepresented minorities. Trainees receive instruction in the responsible conduct of research. At the completion of the program, surgeons-scientists will be strongly prepared for academic positions from which they will launch their investigative careers, while postdoctoral Ph.D. trainees should be competitive for entry-level independent funding.
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