US Psychiatric Genetics Research Training Program

描述（由申请人提供）：该培训资助的目标是为美国生物医学科学家（医学博士和博士）提供研究美国拉丁裔人口精神疾病遗传基础所需的技能。该培训计划将建立在美国国立卫生研究院资助的几个关于拉丁美洲人精神疾病的遗传学研究项目的基础上，这些研究项目正在圣安东尼奥德克萨斯大学健康科学中心（UTHSCSA）的精神病遗传学中心进行。目前，我们为来自哥斯达黎加的精神健康专业人员提供了一个精神遗传学培训项目（由NIMH和福格蒂国际中心资助）。这笔拨款将使我们能够教育在美国的研究人员，与哥斯达黎加科学家目前获得的广泛培训计划相同，培训将涵盖五个主要领域：1)精神病学表型和内表型的表征；2)文化能力在拉丁裔人群研究中的应用；3)拉丁裔人群精神疾病易感性基因定位和鉴定的分子生物学方法和技术；4)收集数据的统计分析；5)跨种族人群精神病学遗传学研究的伦理。该项目拟提供三个方面的培训：第一个方面包括9个月的PGY III和IV精神病学住院医师培训。轨道2包括2至3年的精神病学家和/或心理学家临床研究奖学金（预计最近完成他们的专业培训）。轨道3将包括2至3年的基础科学博士后培训。在完成培训后，学生将获得精神病学遗传学领域的专业知识，在西班牙裔人群中进行道德、有效的研究，并与来自美国和拉丁美洲的研究人员开展合作。我们目前的培训拨款申请的主要目标是培养一批有能力在美国拉丁裔人群中设计和开展精神病学基因研究的研究人员。以下是该计划的具体目标。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The goal of this training grant is to provide U.S. biomedical scientists (MD and PhD) with the skills needed to study the genetic basis of mental illness in the American Latino population. This training program will build on several NIH funded genetics research projects on mental illnesses in Latinos being conducted at the Psychiatric Genetics Center (PGC) at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA). We currently have a training program in psychiatric genetics for mental health professionals from Costa Rica (funded by the NIMH and the Fogarty International Center). This grant will enable us to educate U.S. based researchers with the same extensive training program currently available to Costa Rica scientists, training will cover five main areas: 1) Characterization of psychiatric phenotypes and endophenotypes, 2) Cultural competence as applied to research in Latino populations, 3) Molecular biology methods and techniques for the mapping and identification of genes which predispose to mental illness in the Latino population, 4) Statistical analysis of collected data and 5) Ethics of psychiatric genetics research with cross-ethnic populations. This program proposes to provide training along three tracks: Track 1 consisting of 9 months of training for PGY III and IV Psychiatry Residents. Track 2 consists of 2 to 3 year clinical research fellowships for Psychiatrists and/or Psychologists (expected to have recently completed their specialty training). Track 3 will consist of 2 to 3 years of training for basic science post-doctoral trainees. At the completion of their training, students will have acquired expertise in the field of Psychiatric Genetics, in conducting ethical, effective research with Hispanic populations and in developing collaborative endeavors with researchers from the U.S. and Latin America. The principal goal of our current training grant application is to develop a cadre of investigators with the ability to design and carry out psychiatric genetic research studies in the Latino population of the United States. Specific aims of the program follow.