Post-Doctoral Training in Suicide Prevention Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Project Summary: This application is for competitive renewal of our Institutional National Research Service Award (T32) based in the University of Rochester's Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide (CSPS). Its objectives are (1) to develop a cadre of young scientists with the depth and breath of knowledge and experience necessary to establish careers as independent investigators in the area of suicide prevention; and (2) to foster communication between intervention researchers so that advances in their work can be more effectively brought to bear on the important public health challenge of suicide. The CSPS T32 will provide seven stipends each year for post-doctoral fellows in psychology, psychiatry, and other relevant disciplines. Fellows ordinarily undergo a three-year training sequence that includes a coordinated series of courses and seminars designed to provide him/her with a firm foundation in the theories and methods of clinical intervention research. Core areas of knowledge and skill development include (a) suicidology, (b) research design and methods for studies with high-risk patient populations, (c) biostatistics, (d) grant writing and writing for publication, and (e) the ethics of research. Throughout the training period each fellow works with a primary mentor selected from the UR faculty, and one or more co-mentors, on development and implementation of an individually tailored program of applied suicide prevention research. As well, fellows are supported in establishing ties with a rich assortment of off-site expert consultants who are also collaborators in CSPS studies. Telephone, e-mail, and videoconferencing communications may be supplemented with visits by the fellow to the consultant's institution for brief or extended periods of mentored research exposure. The extensive network of CSPS collaborators supports recruitment of outstanding early career investigators a well. A rigorous evaluation plan will closely track the performance of each trainee as well as assess the program's success over the longer term in preparing its graduates for careers in intervention research in general and suicide prevention studies in particular. Relevance: There is a critical shortage of clinical researchers trained in the study of preventive interventions. Suicide is a major public health problem, and an area in which the lack of rigorously trained prevention scientists is particularly acute. The CSPS T32 is the only institutional postdoctoral research training program in the country the focus of which is suicide studies. Embedded in the CSPS, it offers a rich and diverse array of resources for training, both at the University of Rochester and through its extensive network of collaborators nationwide, and represents an important part of the "pipeline" of early career investigators in suicide studies.