Research Training in Infections and Immunity

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This NRSA competing application will allow trainees at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) to continue to successfully launch clinical research careers in infectious diseases. At this time, ours is the sole NRSA existing within BCM or the Texas Medical Center to pursue clinical research training in non-AIDS infections. Superb training opportunities exist at BCM in a number of areas. Participating projects with a strong record of federal funding and training experience include: 1) Innate Immunity and Nosocomial Infections, 2) Novel Drug-, Cell- and Probiotic-based Therapeutics, 3) Viral and Bacterial Gastroenteritis, 4) Viral and Bacterial Pathogenesis and Oncogenesis, 5), Acute Respiratory Pathogens and Pneumonia, 6) Vaccine Development and Evaluation, 7) Tuberculosis, and 8) Prostheses Infections. Total grant support in 2007 for the specific centers and programs participating in this NRSA Program is $19.5M. The structure of the Program contains three components, representing training tracks that can be pursued by trainees: 1) laboratory-based clinical research, 2) clinical research trials and 3) clinical epidemiology. All trainees pursuing the laboratory-based track will be required to participate in the Clinical Scientist Training Program (CSTP; K30) at BCM; physician trainees will obtain their MS in Clinical Investigation. Those pursuing the clinical epidemiology track are required to enter the University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health (UTHSPH) and obtain their MPH. Those trainees pursuing the clinical trials track will enter either the CSTP or UTHSPH and obtain their MS or MPH, respectively. The Adult Infectious Diseases Training Program at BCM has shown it can attract highly qualified postdoctoral trainees, over half of them women and close to a quarter under-represented minorities, and provide them with the skills necessary to begin successful careers in infectious diseases clinical research. In the current cycle, this Program has graduated 5 trainees, all of whom were appointed to the Assistant Professor level in a major medical college or university. Altogether, these individuals have published 60 original peer-reviewed manuscripts and have been awarded several prestigious grants and career development awards, totaling $1.6M. This record of success, along with a doubling in the pool of applicants and the participation of 10 new Faculty Mentors/Co-Mentors, is offered as evidence in support of renewal with 3 postdoctoral trainees per year, an increase from 2 trainees in the current cycle.