Conducting Child Health Care Research in Vulnerable Populations

 描述(由申请人提供)：这是范德比尔特大学医学院儿科T32培训计划的续签申请。我们的长期目标是支持儿科医生和科学家的职业发展，他们将成为弱势群体儿童健康研究的未来领导者。这类人群包括由于内在生物差异、疾病负担加重或经济限制、居住地和无法有效沟通等社会特征而面临不良健康后果风险的儿童。这项提议的具体目的是在实习结束时或研究金培训早期确定合格的受训人员，并向他们提供在实验室中的跨学科研究经验，由一名合格的导师提供足够的资源和空间，并随时接触独特的弱势儿童群体。为了确保长期的成功，这一经验将与范德比尔特临床调查科学硕士和公共卫生硕士项目相结合，这是一项在弱势群体中进行研究的应用技能实践，以及来自多个学科的学员之间的频繁互动，以促进学员的职业发展。自2009年5月资助该方案以来，重点包括培训来自新生儿科、儿科感染性疾病、儿科血液学/肿瘤学、发育儿科、普通儿科、儿科心脏病学和儿科内分泌学的15名年轻内科科学家。9名研究员已完成该计划，100%在培训结束时参加了额外的研究培训或学术生涯。在两名研究员在培训后的两年内因个人原因离开学术界后，该计划修改了遴选标准，到目前为止，最近毕业的研究员100%仍留在学术界。学员发表了63篇手稿(每个学员4.2篇)，该计划的多样性努力相当成功(27%的学员来自代表性不足的群体)。鉴于申请者人数持续强劲以及该计划的优势，我们建议继续支持三名五年级和三名六年级的学员。项目主任将利用一个由范德比尔特大学内外国家专家组成的咨询委员会，就候选人和导师的选择、选定候选人的学术进步和总体成功获得持续的建议。该提案主要集中在四个核心学科中，这些学科代表了范德比尔特大学独特和实质性的研究优势，确定了在儿童健康研究中需要新知识的关键领域，包括传染病/流行病学、神经发育、健康差异和药物流行病学/药物基因组学。这一计划的继续将使我们能够培养一支高素质的儿科医生-科学家队伍，他们拥有解决我国儿童目前面临的一些最重要的医疗保健问题的技能、知识和奉献精神。

 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This is a request for renewal of a T32 training program from the Department of Pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Our long term objective is to support the career development of pediatric physician-scientists who will become the future leaders in child health research in vulnerable populations. Such populations include children who are at risk for adverse health outcomes due to intrinsic biologic differences, elevated burdens of disease, or social characteristics such as financial limitations, place of residence, and inability to communicate effectively. The specific aims of this proposal are to identify qualified trainees at the end of residency or early in fellowship training and to provide them with an interdisciplinary research experience in the laboratory of a qualified mentor with adequate resources and space and ready access to unique populations of vulnerable children. To ensure long term success, this experience will be integrated with the Vanderbilt Master of Science in Clinical Investigation and Master of Public Health programs, an applied skills practicum in conducting research in vulnerable populations, and frequent interactions among trainees from multiple disciplines to foster trainees' career development. Highlights since the program was funded in May 2009 include the training of 15 young physician-scientists from neonatology, pediatric infectious diseases, pediatric hematology/oncology, developmental pediatrics, general pediatrics, pediatric cardiology, and pediatric endocrinology. Nine fellows have completed the program, 100% entered into additional research training or academic careers at the end of training. After two fellows left academics for personal reasons during the two years following training, the program modified selection criteria and to date 100% of the more recent graduating fellows remain in academics. The trainees have published 63 manuscripts (4.2 per trainee) and the program's diversity efforts have been quite successful (27% of the trainees came from underrepresented groups). In view of the continued strong applicant pool and the strengths of the program, we propose continued support for three trainees in PGY-5 and three in PGY-6. The program director will utilize an Advisory committee composed of national experts within and external to Vanderbilt University to obtain on-going advice with respect to candidate and mentor selection, scholarly progress of selected candidates and overall success. The proposal is broadly focused within four core disciplines that represent unique and substantial research strengths of Vanderbilt University and that define critical areas of need for new knowledge in child health research on particularly vulnerable populations and include Infectious Diseases/Epidemiology, Neurodevelopment, Health Disparities, and Pharmacoepidemiology/Pharmacogenomics. Continuation of this program will permit the development of a cadre of highly-qualified pediatric physician-scientists with the skills, knowledge and dedication to solve some of the most important health care issues currently facing our nation's children.