The Hematology Research Training Program at the University of Washington is designed to provide intensive post-doctoral research training in investigative hematology. The program emphasizes cell and molecular biology, with particular strengths in: stem cells and hematopoiesis, cell and gene therapy, platelets and hemostasis, vascular biology, hematologic malignancies, cancer biology, and hematopoietic cell transplantation. Program faculty include established investigators with strong independent research programs from both basic science and clinical departments of the University of Washington. The faculty is based at the University of Washington campuses, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and nearby affiliated institutions. The goal of the training program is to develop the research, presentation, and fund-raising skills that trainees will need to establish independent research careers, and to train future leaders in the field of research hematology. Trainees have MD, MD/PhD or PhD degrees. Many have completed clinical training in hematology, but others are basic researchers wishing to work in the field. Trainees are chosen through an application process and interactions with program faculty. They obtain research experience by working with a mentor, and are assisted in laboratory techniques, data analysis, publishing papers, presentation skills, and acquiring independent grant support. Trainees typically receive 2 years of funding from the program, but often continue their training longer under separate funding mechanisms. Training progress is monitored by the faculty mentor, a separate faculty advisor, the Program Directors, and the Division of Hematology faculty through regular research presentations, meetings with each trainee, and written evaluations. Strengths of the program include: diverse research opportunities, a qualified senior faculty, the inclusion of under-represented minority trainees, and a long track record spanning over five decades of training graduates that subsequently obtained junior faculty positions and became independent and distinguished investigators.
There continues to be a need for trained scientists, particularly physician-scientists, in the field of hematology, as this discipline is at the forefront of modern medicine. This grant will support the training of hematology researchers at a critical time in their careers - the transition from post-doctoral fellow to independent investigator - and develop scientists that will advance hematology and health care in the USA.
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