Academic Pediatric Infectious Disease

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ABSTRACT The objective of our University of Washington’s (UW) Pediatric Infectious Diseases (PID) Training Program (TP) is to train future leaders in research on infectious diseases of children. Our TP (1) recruits experienced and committed pediatricians; (2) trains them in basic and novel molecular, genomic, proteomic, bioinformatic, and epidemiologic methods, and (3) mentors them to develop and lead an independent research program. We request the renewal of T32 support to train four pediatricians in research annually. Initially, each fellow engages in 12 months of clinical training (for PID certification), supported by Seattle Children's Hospital (SCH). Subsequently, the T32 will support 2 years of mentored research by Training Faculty (TF) who are leaders in their areas of research and excel at mentorship. Trainees and TF are encouraged to tackle projects that will contribute novel and critical insights into understanding and treating pediatric infectious diseases and generate preliminary data for a K, R, or other award. In addition, fellows receive didactic and hands-on education in the federal regulations governing research with humans and/or animals, grant and manuscript preparation, and strategies to succeed in academia. Our curriculum includes a structured timeline to transition to “K”-series NIH awards, and if needed, our department extends support to assist trainees in this transition. Our NIH T32-supported UW-PID-FP has trained 94 fellows since 1981, with a consistent record of developing research leaders in Maternal-Child Health (Figure 1). During the past 15 years, 34 fellows have successfully completed our TP, 1 transferred to a different TP, and 9 are current fellows. As of May 2017, of the 34 TP graduates from the past 15 years, 18 (53%) have been awarded Ks. Of the graduates completing our TP more than 5 years ago (and therefore at the stage one would progress to NIH R-level funding), 11/26 (42%) have received Rs. Biomedical research continues to be a primary focus of 26/34 (76%) graduates from the last 15 years: 17 lead academic labs (PIs of R, K or foundation grants), 2 are academic research scientists, 4 are lead researchers within government institutions with intramural funds, 1 is an industry researcher, and 2 are university biology professors teaching undergraduates and performing research. The remaining 8/34 (24%) include: 2 clinician educators at academic hospitals where they participate in research, and 6 clinical specialists in infectious diseases. We have 9 current fellows and 1 new fellow entering in July 2017; 8 of these have submitted ≥1 individual applications for K and/or foundation grants; 4 received awards, and 6 have pending applications. Among our current fellows and recent graduates (N=43) from the past 15 years, 6 (14%) are under-represented-minorities (URM) in health sciences. In 2017, two fellows will complete their 3rd year of fellowship and both will continue as 4th-year Senior Fellows/Instructors with funding by our department or their pending K and/or other grant applications; 2 others will complete their 4th-year of fellowship, one joining Georgetown University as an Assistant Professor and the other currently deciding between 3 university offers.