Developmental and Neonatal Biology Training Program

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The mission of the Training Program in Developmental & Neonatal Biology is subsumed by the overall mission of the NICHD and is focused to ensure that Stanford supplies a diverse pool of highly-trained scientists in research areas, which address the Nation's biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs related to the fetus and newborn. Thus, the prime objective of the Program is the education and training of basic and clinical investigators from diverse backgrounds for academic careers in the developmental sciences and neonatology. The Program offers intensive clinical experiences with newborns, the opportunity for clinical investigation, and advanced study in laboratory-based investigation, at the molecular and cellular level in most of the life-science disciplines, including Biochemistry, Chemical and Systems Biology, Developmental Biology, Genetics, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular and Cellular Physiology, Neurobiology, and Obstetrics and Gynecology. Cross-fertilization of ideas are encouraged that will enrich the research of the basic and the clinically-oriented scientists. For basic science trainees, the Program offers exposure to clinical problems that stimulate their curiosity in human development and enhance the translation from bench to bedside. All trainees have unique opportunities to learn about, as well as contribute to, cutting-edge basic research in productive laboratories with established researchers. They learn about the teamwork required for translational research and can also experience the complexity of large-scale applied clinical research in the intensive care nurseries, supervised by experienced clinical investigators/practitioners. The Program has 4 predoctoral trainees who train for 3 to 4 yrs and receive their PhD degrees; 2 recently graduated postdoctoral trainees train for 1 yr; and 2 post-General Pediatrics residency trainees who possess the knowledge and skills of a Board-Certified general pediatrician train for 2 to 3 yrs. An evaluation process has been developed to obtain each trainee's feedback in order to make improvements to the program for future trainees. After training completion, academic progress of each trainee is followed annually to assess the success of the Program. An External Advisory Committee offers independent perspectives on the Program's operation. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Because the trainees gain an understanding of priorities in public health, they are poised to make significant research contributions, to ensure that children will be born healthy and wanted, have the full potential for a healthy and productive life, free from disease or disability, and to ensure the health, productivity, independence, and wellbeing of all people through optimal rehabilitation. The clinical and research efforts of trainees from diverse backgrounds will help alleviate the health disparity among segments of the population.