This application seeks support for a Pediatric Gastroenterology Training Program at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP) and the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine (UPMC).
Our specific aim i s to train Pediatric physician-scientists and non-physician scientists for independent academic careers investigating topics relevant to gastrointestinal, pancreatic and hepatic diseases in infancy and childhood. A key goal of of the proposed program is to prepare each trainee to transition to their own mentored scholar award (k-series). Our program includes two years of clinical or laboratory research for physician-scientists and non-physician scientists. The research years will be supervised by a committee of faculty selected from the UPMC academic community based on their history of productivity, their interest in research in gastroenterology or hepatology, their history of obtaining funding, and their commitment to training. In addition to providing a research environment for trainees, members of the faculty will also serve on individually tailored Project Committees, which will oversee, evaluate, and guide the scientific and intellectual progress of each trainee. Trainees will work side-by-side with other MD, PhD, and MD/PhD predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. Together with UPMC, CHP has committed $200 milion and a new 220,000 sq. ft. reasearch building to the Pediatric research program. This commitment to research coupled with the new emphasis on research in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology will provide an outstanding training environment for this program. Based on the increasing number of excellent candidates for our Fellowship Program and the need for well trained physician scientists in Pediatric Gastroenterology, we request support for 4 postdoctoral fellows a year including 2 fellows in their first year and 2 fellows in their second year of research training. With the proposed strategies, the program will serve to train the next generation of physician-scientists in Pediatric Gastroenterology.
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