The objectives of this training grant are to ensure that our trainees learn state-of-the-art research techniques, as well as the fundamentals of posing a research question, and the critical thinking involved with analyzing data and summarizing results. A training program must train the researchers to formulate and write grants. A training program must teach clinicians the statistical skills and an understanding of the regulations that are involved in clinical research. To become versatile clinical researchers, we will have our clinical trainees acquire an understanding of basic science research and the laboratory skills involved in basic science research. We have recruited talented basic scientists and physician-scientists for our faculty. Our goal is to increase the dialogue between these groups of researchers to produce translational researchers who are capable of working with both clinical researchers and with basic science researchers. We have organized our faculty into four integrated scientific tracks: Neuroscience and Anesthesia, Critical Care, Pain and Addiction, and Vascular Biology and Bioengineering. We are now proposing a fifth track, Clinical Research Training, that directly collaborates with all the four scientific tracks. A senior researcher in the Department of Anesthesia leads each of these tracks and each track includes physician-scientists and basic scientists. This structure is proposed to foster productive interactions and develop program project grants amongst the researchers with common interests, while allowing training in the diverse areas important to the practice of anesthesia. In contrast to basic science research training programs, clinical research training has been informal and less organized. As a result, one of the missions of this training program is to provide a structured, organized approach to teaching clinical research methods, applicable to the dynamic clinical environment. The ultimate goal is to prepare the trainee to become an independent clinical investigator, who will be well trained in clinical research study design methods and analytical techniques and become productive in an academic research environment, contributing to discoveries that will improve patient outcomes. We request 4 slots per year that will primarily be filled with postdoctoral fellows for two years. We have had mostly MD/PhDs and PhDs but we are attempting to recruit more clinician scientists who will be MDs. We will offer them 2 years of training. Relevance: There is an increased need for physicians to bring basic scientific discoveries to patients, and to prove that these discoveries actually improve patient outcomes. Testing medications and devices in patients requires regulatory knowledge, knowledge regarding clinical trial design, and knowledge about the science involved in the discovery. This training grant will train physicians so that they can bring more scientific discoveries to patients and carefully document the safety, efficacy, and importance of the discoveries.
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