Academic Career Development in Pediatric Diabetes(K12)

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a new application in response to RFA-DK-02-024 for the establishment of a NIH-supported junior faculty career development program in pediatric diabetes at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP), University of Pittsburgh, to complement the T32 Fellowship Training application. As we usher in a new era of basic scientific capabilities and translational exploration, decreasing reimbursement and increased demands for clinical revenue generation have made it increasingly difficult for young faculty to "jump-start" an academic career. Therefore, the aim of this program is to train the next generation of clinician-scientists for independent academic careers in pediatric diabetes emphasizing the clinical application of basic science advances. The core components of this program are: 1) apprenticeship with an academically successful mentor; 2) individually tailored ADVANCED course work and didactic study for each junior faculty based upon specific research and educational needs; 3) exposure to a broad range of interdisciplinary diabetes research seminars; 4) development of core research and ACADEMIC SURVIVAL SKILLS; 5) close follow up and guidance of faculty progress; and 6) evolution towards an INDEPENDENT academic career. The organizational structure of the training program includes: 1) the Program Director, Silva Arslanian M.D., who is the Director of the pediatric General Clinical Research Center; 2) the Program Co-Director, Massimo Trucco M.D., who is the Director of the JDRF Center Grant at CHP and the University; 3) the ADVISORY committee, comprised of the Associate Directors of five different research tracks in diabetes; 4) the Junior Faculty Committee, custom designed for each K12 appointee; and 5) An External Advisory Board of 3 highly accomplished diabetes researchers. From a pool of promising young faculty, from within (graduates of the T32 program) or without the CHP, two will be funded each year. Appointment will be made after careful scrutiny, and recommendation by the Advisory Committee. Special consideration is given to recruiting and retaining junior faculty from minority populations. Awardees will spend 80% of their time in research over a 1-2 year period. The planned K12 program will enable the attraction, development, and retention of pediatric scientists in diabetes who will be competitive for independent funding and will eventually form a group of senior faculty mentors for the future generation of young investigators.