Dermatology Research Training Program

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ABSTRACT: An over-arching goal of the Department of Dermatology at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center is to produce scientific leaders in skin biology and skin disease. To sustain this goal, we seek to renew our T32 Dermatology Research Training Program, which primarily recruits MD/PhD or MD candidates from dermatology residency applicants as early as the residency match. The program’s success can be measured by our graduates’ achievements in acquiring federal grants as principal investigators (over 60% of graduates to date) and leadership positions in academia and industry. These accomplishments validate current policies: (1) selecting candidates with proven scientific achievements and strong potential for independent investigation; (2) continuing a physician-scientist track that trains 2 yrs. in clinical dermatology and then 2 yrs. in research (historically fundamental and/or translational, but with recent expansion into clinical); and (3) preceptorship under outstanding faculty from our Graduate School of Biosciences. The program will continue to be administered: by the same director and 2 co- directors (a senior one and a junior one who is a program alumnus) plus a new (internationally renowned) PhD scientist, by a coordinator, and by 3 advisors who hold Dean-ship positions at Southwestern. We gathered 38 potential preceptors (including a Nobel laureate and 9 members of the National Academy of Science), all of whom have received NIH R01 grants and are effective mentors and meaningful interactors with dermatology personnel. In the aggregate, our preceptors’ publications rate a high mean H-index of 64. For the next funding cycle, we have already recruited 6 outstanding post-doc trainees. The program was given exceptional reviews by Dennis Roop PhD in 2018 and by Alice Pentland MD in 2019, with Dr. Pentland judging the program in the context of comments from the Study Section.