This trauma research training program has derived from the work of research laboratories within the Departments of Surgery, Medicine, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine and Neurosurgery at the University of Colorado. We have incorporated, and benefited from, the previous special emphasis review panel and formal external reviewers. We envision this fellowship as an opportunity to immerse young, academically oriented surgical residents into basic and clinical investigations concerning the pathophysiology of trauma/burn injuries. The administrative structure of this training program continues to be coordinated through the Principal Investigator, Program Director of the Trauma Research program and core associate staff. Structurally, each of the trauma research trainees will be based in the surgical core laboratories with access to basic scientists and clinicians on the faculty of the University of Colorado Hospital and Denver Health Medical Center. The Center convenes weekly to critique and share data. The Program Director is responsible for the recruitment and selection of all trainees and the individual development and integrative direction of each research project. The Program Director in concert with the multi-disciplinary basic and clinical core associate staff provide both the administrative and scientific link between trainees and their clinical/research endeavors. It is the primary responsibility of the Program Director to supervise the design and guarantee the implementation of a balanced research training program within the proposed two-year time frame. Each trainee develops a research proposal in concert with the core staff prior to initiating the two-year research fellowship. These proposals are reviewed by the Program Director and critiqued by the entire trauma research center. Each trainee receives some direction in basic investigation prior to starting the program and, during the research training period, actively participates in the formal weekly research conferences. S/he also receives formal didactic instruction in biostatistics, computer application to trauma surgical investigations and biomedical ethics. Trainees have successfully presented their work at meetings of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma, the Association for Academic Surgery, the Society of University Surgeons, the Surgical Forum, the American Burn Association and FASEB. The program is designed to promote the academic and investigative development of surgical residents at the PGY-III and PGY-V levels. At both levels, the training program is viewed as a two-year dedicated opportunity (with no clinical responsibilities) to learn the discipline of rigorous basic/clinical investigation. As our trauma research training program matures, we are gratified that over 90 percent of our graduates have chosen careers in academic surgery, five have achieved university faculty positions in trauma surgery and two have successfully competed for NIH trauma research funding. Our training program is committed to equal opportunity. During the past several years, our trainees have included several females and three other minorities.
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