Training in Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The training program in Geographic Medicine and Infectious Diseases (AI-07024) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), funded continuously since 1976, aims to rigorously train physicians, physician-scientists and basic scientists in infectious diseases research with a special focus on illnesses of global importance. We propose to train four postdoctoral and two predoctoral trainees per year. Interdisciplinary approaches to the study of infectious diseases are emphasized, reflecting well-established interdepartmental and international collaborations already present on the CWRU campus. To facilitate this goal, dual mentorship of trainees is encouraged to provide unique blends of basic and clinical research training. For this purpose, we provide 39 faculty trainers representing nine Departments in the Schools of Medicine and Dentistry. Most of these scientists have productively collaborated and successfully trained research and physician scientists in an interdisciplinary manner. Infectious diseases research and training activities are further organized within specific programs based around the Division of Geographic Medicine, the Tuberculosis Research Unit (TBRU), the Center for AIDS Research (CFAR), the AIDS Clinical Trial Unit (ACTU) and the Center for Antimicrobial Research and Epidemiology (CARE). Most of these maintain active overseas research projects and support training at CWRU of foreign scientists, thus promoting a healthy collaborative environment for international research. This program has proven to be a fertile environment for postdoctoral career development. In the last ten years, this program has recruited and supported nineteen trainees (15 M.D., 3 Ph.D. and one M.D.-Ph.D.). Of the fourteen trainees that have completed training, eleven (78%) have faculty appointments and are active researchers. Eight (57%) receive their own governmental funding for research. Since the last renewal, we have successfully incorporated two Ph.D. and one M.D.-Ph.D. scientist trainee into the program. To meet a documented need for predoctoral trainee support in infectious diseases research at CWRU, while further broadening the educational diversity of this program, this application seeks new funding for 2 pre-doctoral positions per year. Due to potential overlap concerns, we will decrease numbers of post-doctoral trainees from 5 to 4 per year. Trainees, while supported by the training program, will devote 100% of their time to research training.