Training Interdisciplinary Pharmacology Scientists (TIPS)

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PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Training Interdisciplinary Pharmacology Scientists (TIPS) will train predoctoral students to address critical issues in drug development, by providing them the tools and knowledge to navigate the ever- changing, interdisciplinary landscape that makes up today’s basic, translational, and clinical research. This integrated T32 program is designed to create leaders in the broadly defined field of Pharmacological Sciences. TIPS will provide interdisciplinary training in drug development including screening, computation, medicinal chemistry, and structural biology relevant to target discovery and validation, and an understanding of regulatory issues involved in advancing candidate therapeutics to clinical application. Through the participation of 3 premier and neighboring biomedical research institutions and their graduate schools (University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, and Rice University), TIPS will provide interdisciplinary training, career development activities and industry shadowships that will prepare students to advance biomedical research through successful careers in academia, government and regulatory agencies, and industry. Program leadership includes the program director and co-director and a steering committee of representatives from the participating graduate programs, along with an external advisory committee of diverse experts. TIPS program requirements and benefits will include co-mentoring from two faculty in a collaborative research project; specific didactic and elective courses (available to TIPS trainees at all participating schools); monthly trainee meetings to build a unified cohort; a wide variety of career development activities, and required training in the responsible conduct of research and rigor and reproducibility. Mentors will include 31 faculty members at 3 institutions, working in 14 graduate programs, who have training and research expertise in drug/compound screening, pharmacology, computation, medicinal chemistry, structural biology, systems biology, biochemistry, genetics, and molecular and cellular biology. All participating departments recruit nationwide, especially for students of diverse backgrounds who are under-represented in the biomedical sciences, including individuals with disabilities, from disadvantaged backgrounds, and from under-represented racial and ethnic groups. This provides a large, diverse pool of predoctoral students from a variety of backgrounds for our 5 requested slots. Students will apply to TIPS after joining a lab near the end of their first year or during their second year of graduate school, and if selected through a holistic application process, will receive two years of support. Reappointment to a second year will be contingent on a thorough oral and written review of trainee research progress and completion of program requirements. TIPS will complement the degree requirements of a trainee’s home institution, causing no delay in degree completion. The interdisciplinary skills emphasized by this program will produce pharmacology scientists well positioned to advance biomedical research and to address the complexity of drug development.