Research Training in Rheumatology

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Project Summary/Abstract Despite the increasing burden of rheumatic diseases on the US population, there is a national shortage of rheumatology investigators in major medical centers working to find the causes and cures of these debilitating disorders. The Rheumatology Training Program at the University of Washington (UW) is designed to help address this important shortfall and has a long-standing track record of success. The UW attracts highly qualified trainees both from within the residency program and nationally that are motivated to help fill this urgent need. The goal of our combined adult and pediatric training program that takes advantage of our unique medical and scientific environment is to provide MD and PhD postdoctoral fellows high quality basic or clinical science training in rheumatic disease and to equip them to become independent academic researchers. We have maintained the 3 pathways -basic, clinical and translational to accommodate the needs, interests and skills of both the applicant pool and mentors in the program. We have improved our training program during the last funding period by: 1) fostering cross-talk between these pathways and between adult and pediatric mentors and trainees; 2) recruiting new faculty to both adult and pediatric rheumatology divisions 3) optimizing our pool of outstanding established mentors and recruiting new mentors and co-mentors to facilitate training; 4) “promoting” our mentors-in-training to mentors in the program; and 5) increasing the number of ACGME fellowship positions 6) instituting plans to further increase diversity of trainees. The proposed training requests 4 postdoctoral fellowship positions. Based on the need to attract medical students to the exciting field of rheumatology and success in this current cycle, we also request continuing 2 annual short-term summer electives for medical students. The fellowship program is open to MDs who have completed a clinical year in Rheumatology and PhDs who have completed their accredited training. MDs in the clinical research pathway enter the Masters or Certificate Program in epidemiology or public health at the UW School of Public Health. Our typical trainee completes 2-3 years of basic / clinical science training during which time all trainees are expected to publish their work and submit a fellowship(s) grant. A well- designed core curriculum, formal mentoring program and individualized oversight assists trainees with career and scientific guidance, and provides trainees with essential skills in grant writing and other assets required for long-term success. Finally, a committee comprising UW internal and external experts assist the joint Program Directors in programmatic governance, and to ensure the programmatic benchmarks and expectations are achieved.