Drug Discovery in Infectious Disease Training

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Project Summary While treatments for eradicating some infectious diseases have been successful, there is still a large gap in the treatment of infections caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites, in particular as drug resistance continues to grow as a problem. To address this evolving issue, scientists are needed who are trained to understand how pathogens interact with the host, in order to better uncover opportunities and strategies for drug discovery. This training program’s goal is to address this need by providing qualified graduate students with broad training in infectious diseases and drug discovery, complemented by professional development opportunities, that prepares them for a long productive career in infectious disease related research. The training program includes 21 faculty members from 6 departments across 4 different colleges at Purdue University. These faculty members have diverse and complementary research interests in infectious disease, drug discovery and drug delivery, structural biology, and molecular biology. All of these faculty members are part of the Purdue Institute of Inflammation, Immunology and Infectious Disease and the Purdue Institute for Drug Discovery. These institutes bring faculty and trainees together through shared research space, a seminar series, journal clubs, and social events, resulting in a unique and supportive training environment for the “Drug Discovery in Infectious Disease Training” program. In this program, students will develop expertise both in infectious disease and in drug discovery. Specifically, trainees will take a course focused on: 1) infectious diseases and drug discovery and 2) biological membranes (a common theme of pathogen entry, exit and replication). To promote responsible, rigorous and reproducible research practices, students will complete courses in statistical analysis and the responsible conduct in research. To develop written communication skills, trainees also will take a grant-writing course, where they participate in a collaborative, active learning environment to gain feedback on the development of an NIH F31 style proposal. Additional training activities include participating in a seminar series, attending regional/national scientific meetings, and completing a capstone project in the area of drug discovery in infectious disease. In completing this semester-long capstone project, trainees will build teamwork, critical thinking and data analysis skills, all while working in the context of drug discovery and infectious disease. The capstone project will be complemented with networking and learning opportunities with industrial partners who are developing new drugs for infectious diseases. Further, fellows have the opportunity to engage in entrepreneurial training, an important aspect of academic drug discovery. Using a jointly developed Individual Development Plan, the trainees and mentors will create a training plan that is tailored towards the students’ training needs and career goals. In the end, the training program will have helped students work towards their desired career goals, while also developing a workforce with a unique skillset for addressing the challenges of discovering therapies for infectious disease. !