Molecular Mycology and Pathogenesis Training Program

摘要 培训科学家进行真菌研究的需求比以往任何时候都更加迫切。世界范围内对人类的估计 真菌疾病包括10多亿患有侵袭性、过敏性或慢性真菌疾病的人。植物病害， 据估计，主要由真菌引起的气候变化将使全球粮食产量减少20-40%。这些惊人的统计数字 展示真菌疾病给人类和经济带来的巨大代价。我们的目标是发展 接受过最新实验室、翻译或临床研究方法培训的分子霉菌科学家 已做好充分准备从事独立的研究事业，研究真菌疾病的许多方面。 三机构分子真菌学和病原学培训计划(Tri-I MMPTP)已获得资助 自2003年以来，招聘、支持和培养有前途的博士后科学家和医生，以发展生产力 从事研究工作。这是现存的唯一一个以真菌学为重点的博士后培训项目，而且一直是 非常成功地培养了下一代杰出的科学家。这样做的巨大生产力 培训计划基于其独特的设计，利用了三项重要研究的近似性 大学：杜克大学、北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校和北卡罗来纳州立大学 大学。这些机构可以说提供了地理上最集中的研究人员 乡下的真菌。Tri-I MMPTP已经或正在培训总共43名博士后研究员， 他们中的许多人后来领导了由NIH资助的独立实验室，领导了政府的研究工作， 在工业领域从事尖端项目，并在学术界、政府和 工业。在许多机构，研究医用真菌的教员很少与遗传学家接触 研究模型真菌的工作，研究细胞机制的生物化学家，或关心 对于免疫功能低下的患者。同样，那些研究植物病原体的人智力也很高，而且经常 身体上，从生物医学研究人员那里被除名。支持我们多学科互动的成熟概念 临床和基础研究人员以及植物和动物真菌学家共同发现了新的方法 这是互惠互利的。有了这种一体化的设计，我们的学员变得知识渊博， 多才多艺，对潜在雇主更具吸引力。几个突出的培训主题是负责任的 为了我们的持续成功：从大量竞争激烈的申请者中精心挑选，促进多样性 (包括来自代表性不足背景的7名当前受训人员中的3名)，以及关于科学和技术的集中课程 并批准写作。这些机会都是通过学员个人研究咨询联系在一起的 委员会。核心是我们全心全意的指导，包括一条通往独立心态的道路和一个 在计划完成后，正式实施为期三年的持续指导计划。我们互联互通 战略已经产生了15年来非常成功的科学家，我们通过 学员和导师反馈已经开发出令人兴奋的方法来满足对分子真菌学家的需求。

ABSTRACT The need to train scientists to conduct fungal research is greater than ever. Worldwide estimates of human fungal disease include over a billion people with invasive, allergic, or chronic fungal diseases. Plant diseases, caused predominantly by fungi, are estimated to reduce global food yields by 20-40%. These striking statistics showcase the immense human and financial tolls imparted by fungal diseases. Our objective is to develop molecular mycology scientists trained in the latest methods of laboratory, translational, or clinical research who are fully prepared to pursue independent research careers investigating the many aspects of fungal diseases. The Tri-Institutional Molecular Mycology and Pathogenesis Training Program (Tri-I MMPTP) has been funded since 2003 to recruit, support, and train promising postdoctoral scientists and physicians to develop productive research careers. It is the only mycology-focused postdoctoral training program in existence, and it has been highly successful in training the next generation of outstanding scientists. The tremendous productivity of this training program is predicated on its unique design, leveraging the proximity of three prominent research universities: Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University. These institutions offer arguably the highest geographic concentration of researchers who study fungi in the country. The Tri-I MMPTP has trained or is currently training a total of 43 post-doctoral fellows, many of whom have gone on to lead independent NIH-funded laboratories, lead government research efforts, work in industry on cutting-edge projects, and assume positions of leadership in academia, government, and industry. At many institutions, faculty who investigate medical fungi have little contact with geneticists who work on model fungi, biochemists who study cellular mechanisms, or infectious diseases physicians who care for immunocompromised patients. Similarly, those who study phytopathogens are intellectually, and often physically, removed from biomedical researchers. A proven concept underlying our multidisciplinary interaction is that clinical and basic researchers, and plant and animal mycologists, together discover new approaches that are mutually beneficial. With this integrated design, our trainees become broadly knowledgeable, versatile, and more attractive to prospective employers. Several outstanding training themes are responsible for our continued success: careful selection from a large pool of competitive applicants, promotion of diversity (including 3 of 7 current trainees from under-represented backgrounds), and centralized courses on scientific and grant writing. These opportunities are all connected through trainee Individual Research Advisory Committees. At the core is our dedicated mentorship, including a pathway to independence mentality and a formalized continued mentorship program for three years after program completion. Our interconnected strategy has generated highly successful scientists for 15 years, and our constant programmatic updates via trainee and mentor feedback have developed exciting approaches to fill the need for molecular mycologists.