Training in the Design and Development of Infectious Disease Therapeutics

项目总结/摘要 传染病仍然是全世界儿童死亡的主要原因。新的治疗方法迫切需要 需要取代目前因耐药性和新出现的威胁而受到损害的治疗方法。 当前的COVID-19疫情充分说明了这一紧迫性。圣裘德儿童研究医院 （SJCRH）是理想的儿科研究和治疗中心，以培养博士后研究员在这方面的努力。的 医院的转化和协作研究环境结合其专业知识和基础设施 有成功的治疗开发的良好记录。我们的儿科患者，尤其是那些 接受过癌症治疗的患者，通常免疫功能低下，并面临各种感染因子的风险 以及没有免疫清除就进化得更快的病原体。SJCRH开发了一个国际化的 它是一个公认的传染病项目，可以追溯到50多年前成立的时候。这个程序 包括细菌、病毒和真菌感染的治疗和预防策略方面的主要研究成果。 传染源培训计划利用这些优势和开发新产品的强大历史， 为博士后研究员提供独特和增强的研究培训。16位导师 该计划来自传染病，结构生物学，化学生物学和 治疗学、免疫学和药物科学。他们带来了互补的专业知识， 该公司不仅寻求了解感染的生物学，而且还努力开发治疗方法， 打击他们。这些专业知识包括药物发现，高通量筛选，药物化学， 对感染和治疗的免疫应答，以及疫苗平台和佐剂。这些努力与 在GMP生产和临床试验方面具有一流的现场能力。该计划的广泛目标 是描述致病机制，确定治疗干预的靶点，并开发 疫苗和先导药物化合物通过最先进的治疗方法 发展基础设施，转化为安全有效的药物。导师之间的合作 为培训计划提供跨学科的方法。此外，4名临床合作者将提供 病人护理、临床试验和国际医学方面的培训，5名培训合作者将提供 专业技术培训。所有学员将在赠款写作，严谨性和可重复性，道德指导 和指导。与制药公司的互动以及与联合国有关机构一起访问国际地点 SJCRH全球计划是课程的组成部分。为了促进独立性，学员将 在导师“团队”的指导下开发自己的研究项目，并申请独立的资金。我们 请求支持三名博士后培训生，该计划将继续努力招募URM培训生 为额外的城市资源管理受训人员提供机构支助。最后，一个正式的评估过程， 已成立外部咨询委员会，以跟踪成功情况并确定需要改进的领域。

Project Summary/Abstract Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death of children worldwide. New therapeutics are urgently needed to replace current treatments that are being compromised by drug resistance and emerging threats. The current COVID-19 pandemic perfectly illustrates the urgency. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (SJCRH) is the ideal pediatric research and treatment center to train postdoctoral fellows in this effort. The hospital’s translational and collaborative research environment combined with its expertise and infrastructure have a proven track record of successful therapeutic development. Our pediatric patients, particularly those treated for cancer, are typically immunocompromised and are at risk from a wide variety of infectious agents and pathogens that evolve more rapidly without immune clearance. SJCRH has developed an internationally recognized infectious disease program that dates from its establishment over 50 years ago. This program includes major research efforts in therapeutic and prophylactic strategies for bacterial, viral and fungal infectious agents. The training program leverages these strengths and the strong history of developing new therapeutics to provide unique and enhanced research training to postdoctoral fellows. The 16 preceptors in the program are from the departments of Infectious Diseases, Structural Biology, Chemical Biology & Therapeutics, Immunology and Pharmaceutical Sciences. They bring complementary expertise to this enterprise that not only seeks to understand the biology of infection but also strives to develop therapies to combat them. This expertise includes drug discovery, high-throughput screening, medicinal chemistry, immune responses to infection and therapies, and vaccine platforms and adjuvants. These efforts are linked to on-site best in class capabilities in GMP manufacturing and clinical trials. The broad goals of the program are to characterize pathogenic mechanisms, identify targets for therapeutic intervention, and develop vaccines and lead drug compounds that progress through the state-of-the-art therapeutics development infrastructure into safe and effective medicines. Collaborations between the preceptors provide a cross-disciplinary approach to the training program. In addition, 4 clinical collaborators will provide training in patient care, clinical trials and international medicine, and 5 training collaborators will provide training in specialized techniques. All trainees will be instructed in grant writing, rigor and reproducibility, ethics and mentoring. Interactions with pharmaceutical companies and visits to international sites in conjunction with the SJCRH Global Program are integral parts of the curriculum. To promote independence, trainees will develop their own research projects guided by a ‘team’ of mentors and apply for independent funding. We request support for three postdoctoral trainees, and the program will continue its efforts to recruit URM trainees by providing institutional support for an additional URM trainee. Finally, a formal evaluation process led by an External Advisory Committee has been established to track success and identify areas for improvement.