Molecular & Developmental Biology in Pediatric Research

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) Program at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is designed to provide mentored, intensive basic research experience for a period of 2-3 years necessary to prepare pediatricians for productive and independent careers in biomedical research and academic pediatrics. The theme of this proposal, "Molecular and Developmental Biology in Pediatrics," has unique relevance to the most common disorders seen in childhood. It encompasses normal developmental biology as well as adaptation of the fetus and child to insults occurring during ontogenesis. The multidisciplinary nature of the program - drawing from the experience of established scientists in the Department of Pediatrics, Human Genetics, Internal Medicine, Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology, Immunobiology, Pharmacology and Biological Chemistry, and Physiology and Biophysics - has evolved from common interests, frequent interactions, past training of pediatric scientists, and several areas of ongoing collaborative research of the faculty. The program will provide rigorous and flexible basic research experience for young pediatric scientists through collegial interaction with Center faculty, through startup funding as provided by new project development awards, and through the program's educational core. The selection of new project development scholars by the Program Executive Committee will be highly competitive and only those individuals with exceptional credentials or potential will be accepted by the program's Executive Committee. A novel strategy to recruit under-represented minorities to the program will be implemented. A career plan will be prepared for each scholar that will consider specific long and short-term research career goals and the competencies that will contribute to development as an independent investigator. The laboratories of the program's faculty in the Department of Pediatrics and in basic science departments will serve as sites for pediatric research faculty development. The CHRCDA program will utilize the Shared Core Laboratories at Mount Sinai School of Medicine such as state of the art methodology for cell and whole animal imaging, for production of transgenic and knockout mouse models, and for high throughput gene screening and gene expression profiling. All CHRCDA scholars will participate in didactic sessions designed to enhance their mentored program. Regular research seminars and periodic laboratory workshops will also promote interactions among young investigators and program faculty. Overall, the program is enhanced by centralization of laboratory facilities and faculty, the existing interactions amongst research programs within the institution, the many core laboratory resources which are readily available to researchers, and the recruitment base of highly qualified applicants already attracted to the excellence of Mount Sinai's clinical departments and basic sciences.