Mentoring Investigators on the Clinical Translation of Genetic Discoveries in Type 2 Diabetes

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ABSTRACT We are entering a new era in which the explosion of genomic and biological information across multiple developmental and metabolic states is poised to transform the practice of medicine. The clinician's ability to absorb, assimilate and translate this information will determine the extent of its impact on public health. There is an urgent need to train clinical and non-clinical scientists who are competent on big biological data, and who can curate, disseminate and implement the clinically actionable findings that emerge from ongoing efforts. The PI on this application has dedicated himself to advance genomic and metabolomic discoveries in type 2 diabetes, and now seeks to mentor a cadre of highly trained investigators who will be enabled and empowered to lead the application of genomic and systems-wide approaches to the clinical setting. To achieve this goal, he will 1) establish an infrastructure of pertinent genomic and physiologic datasets available for mining, 2) develop a rigorous yet nurturing training pipeline of carefully selected mentees, and 3) guide the investigation of clinically relevant hypotheses that can be tested in the appropriate environment. Dr. Florez is embedded in a successful and productive milieu that embraces a culture of collaboration. As the Chief of the Diabetes Unit and member of the Center for Human Genetic Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital, an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School, and an Institute Member at the Broad Institute, he is placed in a unique position that will enable him and his trainees to benefit from direct access to an unparalleled suite of training resources and datasets germane to the proposed patient-oriented research in type 2 diabetes and its complications.