Patient Oriented Research in Pediatric Nutrition

描述（由申请人提供）：本申请为职业中期研究者奖在以患者为导向的研究（K24）寻求谁是致力于人类营养优秀研究的研究人员的支持，特别是指导未来的领导者在儿科营养。该申请的目的是使候选人能够巩固和扩大她在以患者为导向的研究方面的努力，并培养她指导临床研究人员和其他儿科营养学员的能力。该候选人有一个良好的记录进行以病人为导向的研究，这一直是由两个联邦和非联邦来源的资金，在她的学术生涯迄今为止，她已经指导了超过25个博士前和博士后学员，目前包括2名医生临床研究员和2名博士后研究员，他们都在进行直接相关的儿科营养研究项目。候选人的研究重点是锌（Zn）稳态在正常但脆弱的人群，包括婴儿，儿童和妇女在生殖周期，并在病理条件下，锌稳态可能会受到干扰。一个新兴的研究兴趣领域的候选人和学员在儿科营养是儿童肥胖的预防和治疗。本申请中描述了三个资助的面向患者的研究项目：研究肠道内源性锌的分泌特征及其通过金属硫蛋白的潜在调节;大规模干预试验，研究低植酸玉米对危地马拉妇女的孕产妇生殖结果和锌稳态的影响，以及对母乳喂养婴儿的生长和微量矿物质状况的影响;以及一项初步研究，检查严重肥胖青少年的锌状况和锌排泄与胰岛素敏感性的关系。具体的指导目标是：1）通过新创建的课程和培训课程，为博士后研究员和其他儿科营养学员制定一个结构化的，严格的培训计划，这将与更广泛的UCHSC学术界的现有资源相联系;二是积极招收优秀学员，特别是医师，到儿科营养领域，在这一领域培养一批更大的营养专家。该奖项将大大有助于候选人的职业目标，使她能够放弃一些临床，教育和行政职责，以更好地专注于儿科营养中以患者为导向的研究，并提高她指导下一代临床研究人员的能力。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application for a Midcareer Investigator Award in Patient Oriented Research (K24) seeks support for an investigator who is committed to excellent research in human nutrition, and especially to mentoring future leaders in Pediatric Nutrition. The objective of this application is to enable the candidate to solidify and expand her efforts in patient oriented research, and to foster her ability to mentor clinical investigators and other trainees in Pediatric Nutrition. The candidate has an excellent record of conducting patient oriented research, which has been funded by both federal and non-federal sources, In the course of her academic career to date, she has mentored more than 25 pre- and post-doctoral trainees, currently including 2 physician clinical fellows and 2 post-doctoral fellows, all of whom are conducting research projects directly relevant to Pediatric Nutrition. The candidate's research focus is zinc (Zn) homeostasis in normal but vulnerable populations, including infants, children, and women during the reproductive cycle, and in pathologic conditions in which Zn homeostasis may be perturbed. An emerging area of research interest for the candidate and for trainees in Pediatric Nutrition is pediatric obesity prevention and treatment. Three funded patient oriented research projects are described in this application: investigations to characterize secretion of intestinal endogenous Zn and its potential modulation by metallothionein; a large scale intervention trial examining the effects of phytate-reduced maize on maternal reproductive outcomes and Zn homeostasis in Guatemalan women, and on growth and trace mineral status of their breastfed infants; and a pilot study examining Zn status and Zn excretion in relation to insulin sensitivity in severely obese adolescents. The specific mentoring aims are 1) to develop a structured, rigorous training program for post-doctoral fellows and other trainees in Pediatric Nutrition through newly created courses and training sessions, which will be linked with existing resources in the broader UCHSC academic community; and 2) to aggressively recruit outstanding trainees, especially physicians, to the field of Pediatric Nutrition to develop a larger cohort of physician nutrition specialist leaders in this area. This award will substantially contribute to the candidate's Career goals by enabling her to relinquish some clinical, educational and administrative duties in order to better focus on patient oriented research in Pediatric Nutrition, and by enhancing her ability to mentor the next generation of clinical investigators.