Otolaryngology Training in Immunology, Virology and Molecular Biology

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The education of clinician-scientists is of paramount importance to the field of Otolaryngology. The need for interfaces between science and medicine, the importance of clinicians that value scientific research, and the increased importance of evidence-based medicine in health care all argue for research training of physicians. Moreover, the impact of immunological mechanisms in many ENT diseases has received increased attention in the past decade, with an increase immune/inflammatory therapeutics in our field. Immunotherapy has proven to be highly effective in several forms of cancer. Yet Otolaryngology remains behind many other areas of medicine in immunology research. As an example, the area of innate immunity mediated by pathogen receptors has seen a dramatic expansion in the broader field of immunology and infectious diseases over the past 20 years, and the head and neck represent a major pathogen interface. However, only within the last few years has an increase in innate immune research been seen in our field. The availability of molecular methods has transformed research in immunology and other areas of biomedicine, molecular therapies are in active development, and the era of genomic medicine has arrived. Clinician-scientists well trained in molecular biology are therefore needed. Finally, research into viral diseases could not be more relevant at the current time. Over the past 30 years, UCSD Otolaryngology has expanded its immunology, virology and molecular research, resulting in an established cadre of scientists. These investigators provide a fertile training ground for clinicians who wish to pursue these arenas of research, to provide ENT with well-trained clinician-scientists. We propose to continue our clinician-scientist resident research training program under the R25 mechanism. Our program addresses the major barriers to research by clinicians by providing training in: 1) experimental design and scientific techniques; 2) research collaboration and teambuilding; 3) grant and scientific manuscript writing; 4) managing the conflict between clinical work and research; and 5) preparation for academic medicine. The trainees for this program will be selected from MD's who wish to pursue eighteen months of research training during their Otolaryngology residency, consisting of the R25 year and additional periods of research training embedded in clinical training. Trainees from underrepresented groups will be actively sought. Trainees will receive advanced basic science, translational or clinical research training in the application of advanced immunology, virology and molecular biology methods to research problems within the NIDCD arena. Research training will extend throughout residency, to provide continuity and avoid a significant training gap. Trainees will also receive instruction in research ethics, methods to ensure data quality and reproducibility, responsible conduct of research, and the preparation of initial review board applications. Finally, we will encourage choice of a career including research with specific education.