Preparing Trainees in Neurology and Neurosurgery for Academic Research Careers

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Program Description: Many academic neurologists and neurosurgeons have noted a downward trend over the past decade in the numbers of trainees in residency programs who are interested in pursuing careers in academic medicine. This could adversely affect the future of basic and applied research in neurobiology, particularly with respect to (a) generation of new knowledge in the neurosciences; (b) understanding the relationships between basic neuroscience and clinical medicine; and (c) development of tools for diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the nervous system. It is our premise that neuroscientists and epidemiologists, also trained in clinical neurology or neurosurgery, represent our best hope for the future in developing and translating knowledge to expand treatment options in clinical neuroscience. This application proposes to develop an organizational structure and educational program for training neurology and neurosurgery residents at The University of Chicago in the day-to-day conduct of research, the ethical considerations that lead to honest science that is respectful of humans and animals, experimental design and statistical analysis that lead to interpretable results with impact, and the writing of grant proposals that contain important questions and clearly stated methods of answering them. Research training will be offered to select residents based on identification of an appropriate mentor and development of a promising research proposal. During a first phase of research education, neurology residents will perform 6-12 months of mentored research in a clinical or basic neuroscience laboratory within their PGY3 and PGY4 years. Neurosurgery residents will perform 12 months of mentored research during their PGY4 year. The second phase of research training will occur during the neurology fellowship years or the PGY5 year of the neurosurgery residency. A weekly evening seminar course during phase I will cover issues of experimental design, research implementation and ethics, and biostatistics. A year-long seminar course in grant-writing and a one-quarter course in the responsible conduct of research, accompanied by optional neuroscience and/or epidemiology coursework will accompany the Phase II research experience. All participants are expected to have an NIH research application, probably a K08 or K23 application, completed by the end of Phase II.