Training in Reproductive Sciences

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application is a renewal of the first T32 awarded to the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Washington University in St. Louis. The original goal of this T32 Training program was to recruit qualified PhD scientists through this program to undergo postdoctoral training in Reproductive Science and to facilitate their career development and retention in this field. Of the three graduates of our program so far, all three are continuing on in academia in fields directly related to reproductive science. In addition, over these first 5 years of our T32 Program, the visibility of Reproductive Sciences at Washington University has grown, and in addition to recruiting more trainees we have recruited more junior faculty within the Department who primarily perform basic science research. New grant-funded collaborations and interactions among participating faculty also have been established. This T32 program was the spark we needed to ignite interest in reproductive science at our institution. The long-term objective of this application is to continue to take advantage of the significant resources and experience within the Washington University research community to train and promote the development of future leaders in Reproductive Science with dual strengths in basic and translational research. Our specific aim is to select and recruit talented, postdoctoral PhD trainees and offer a research training position in the laboratory of a highly qualified mentor with the option of clinical mentorship as well. The research program is built upon collaborative efforts among 15 outstanding faculty mentors in 7 different departments. Five subgroups exist within our T32 training program reflecting the diverse expertise of our program: Developmental Biology, Stem Cell/Germ Cell Biology, Molecular Endocrinology and Aging, Endometrial Cancer Genetics and Maternal Fetal Biology. A highly structured and thoughtfully designed program will allow trainees the opportunity to mature as interdisciplinary reproductive scientists in a superb scientific setting at Washington University. Trainees will actively participate in ongoing research in a laboratory under the mentor's supervision. In addition, resources of the department and the medical campus are incorporated in this program as career development tools for trainees, such as grant and manuscript writing and one-on-one interaction with mentors highly committed to and experienced in postdoctoral training. In addition, a clinical mentorship is also available to those trainees interested in the clinical application of their research in any of the 5 areas. The newly founded Office of Post Graduate Affairs at Washington University School of Medicine also provides excellent support and resources to these individuals. Our active Minority Recruitment Plan covers detailed strategies and outlines our rigorous efforts at this important component. If successful in our aim, this program will produce well-trained and competitive reproductive scientists who will pursue clinical, evidence-based questions with a solid, basic science-derived approach.