Boston University Rheumatology Research Training (BURRT) T32 Program

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The Boston University Rheumatology Research Training (BURRT) T32 Program is a new application leveraging a prior two-decade history of providing outstanding training to physicians and scientists in clinical investigation of the epidemiology, management, and outcomes of rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases. The BURRT T32 Program will leverage numerous institutional programs and broaden the T32 faculty mentoring pool to include new disciplines to better prepare postdoctoral T32 MD and PhD scholars for careers in clinical research in academia and industry. The objectives of the program are to graduate 3 postdoctoral T32 scholars every 2 years in our multidisciplinary program, with an emphasis on recruiting and retaining scholars from underrepresented in medicine (URiM) backgrounds. We will train them to succeed in becoming independent clinical researchers in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases transitioning to their first faculty position or research-related job outside of academia. We will provide a strong foundational Core Curriculum in epidemiology, biostatistics, and clinical research methods with project-based team mentoring and numerous avenues for career and professional development. We will additionally provide broad multidisciplinary training, including coursework, that provides additional training in one or more specialized tracks selected by the T32 scholar: 1) Health Disparities and Community Engagement; 2) Bioinformatics, Genomics, and Machine Learning; 3) Behavioral Interventions and Mobile Health Technologies; 4) Implementation Sciences. The program aims to address key areas identified through a needs assessment to better prepare post-doctoral T32 scholars for engaging in cutting-edge clinical research with more in-depth exposure to newer areas of research disciplines and methods. Each T32 scholar will be carefully matched to an appropriate team of experienced and funded mentors to provide expert research guidance, career guidance, and professional development, aided by an individual development plan (IDP). We will evaluate each component of the training program formally and comprehensively. A key foundational aspect to the program is a weekly multidisciplinary clinical research meeting. The program additionally includes required coursework, opportunity to pursue a Master's level degree, and attendance at a broad array of seminars and hands-on experiences in each of the Tracks, cross-program and trans-institutional networking opportunities, industry and journal roundtables and internships, IRB internship, journal clubs, and career counseling, among others. Trainees will develop professional skills in writing grants, scientific manuscripts, oral presentations, and undergo training in the responsible conduct of research, enhancing reproducibility in research, team science, and leadership and industry collaborations. Overall, the program is designed to prepare the future leaders in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases clinical research.