Genetics and Genomic Approaches to Lung Diseases and Disorders in Washington, DC

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We propose a K12 training program in genetics/genomics of lung disease for the Washington DC area. The proposed K12 will be integrated into the recently created Washington Institute of Clinical Translational Science, a consortium of Washington DC area academic medical centers. The Program will draw upon NIH-funded lung and sleep researchers from four institutions: Children's National Medical Center, Howard University (a historically black university), Georgetown University, and George Washington University. The administration of the Program and laboratory training in genetics/genomics will be centered in the Research Center for Genetic Medicine in Children's National Medical Center. The Center is well-recognized for training, research, and technological innovations in genetics/genomics. Dr. Eric Hoffman serves as both the Director of the Research Center for Genetic Medicine and as Program Director for the proposed K12 genetics/genomics of lung training program. Formal Core Courses in genetics, genomics and proteomics will be taught at CNMC, GWU, and GU. The Didactic Research Curriculum will utilize the educational programs that have been developed to support K awards at CNMC and the other three participating institutions. Potential trainees will be drawn from all four participating institutions and aligned with mentors and projects that best match their interests and career trajectory. Research strengths of the proposed K12 lead and secondary mentors focus on asthma, lung remodeling, acute lung injury, sleep disorders, pediatric lung health, and health disparities in lung disease, as well as on genetics, genomics and proteomics. Technical strengths in genetics/genomics that will be used in research projects include single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) association studies, mRNA and proteomic profiling, and bioinformatics. We propose to train three Basic and/or Clinical Translational Fellows per year, for a total of 6-8 trainees graduating from the rigorous program over the proposed 5 yr period.