Program Descriptions
Developmental Cardiology and Pulmonary Training Program
Principal Investigator/Program Director: Robert P. Mecham
Research Fellow Support: 4 Postdocs (MDs or PhDs) and 2 Predocs
This training program is designed to attract and train both predoctoral and postdoctoral investigators in basic investigation of cardiovascular and pulmonary biology, with the goal of preparing these scientists for research careers in these fields. The objectives are: (i) to provide an extended period of full-time, protected investigative training in a clinical or bench laboratory with an accomplished scientific mentor, (ii) to correlate basic developmental biology and physiology with clinically relevant cardiovascular and pulmonary defects, (iii) to provide financial support and facilities for laboratory investigation, and (iv) to guide the trainees’ development so that after completion of training successful competition for independent funding is likely.
The need for a training program in cardiovascular and pulmonary development, especially of physician-scientists interested in childhood diseases, is based upon clear evidence of a small, national pool of such individuals currently as faculty or trainees. Currently, few pediatric cardiology or pulmonary fellowship programs in American medical centers provide adequate research training in this area of research, either at the bench or in structured clinical investigation. Our program is designed to address this need from two important perspectives: 1) To allow pediatric and other clinical fellows with an interest in basic research to develop research competence and career training. 2) To attract and train talented basic scientists to study mechanism related to childhood diseases. With the objectives of the program in mind, we have adopted a training curriculum for 4 postdoctoral (1 MD - PGY-4 and 3 PhD - 1 PGY-1 and 2 PGY-3) and 2 predoctoral fellows with an uninterrupted 2-4 year block of full-time investigation. This is combined with an integrated and multidisciplinary set of didactic seminars, journal clubs and formal courses to provide education in many aspects of cardiopulmonary development and disease. The program is highly integrative with current pediatric cardiology, pediatric pulmonary, genetics, pediatric critical care, neonatology, cardiovascular medicine fellowship training programs and with the graduate and MSTP programs. Washington University School of Medicine and the departments of the participating faculty provide an excellent and proven environment for scientific training in the areas of emphasis. Congenital heart and vascular defects and abnormalities in lung formation and function remain among the most common causes of death in infancy and early childhood. The purpose of this training program is to attract and train young scientists to study mechanisms related to childhood diseases.
Mechanisms of Childhood Infection and Immunity
Principal Investigator/Program Director: Gregory A. Storch, MD
Research Fellow Support: 0 Postdocs (MDs or PhDs)
The long-term objective of this program is to foster the growth and development of pediatric physician-scientists who are prepared to pursue independent academic careers investigating important issues in childhood infection and immunity. The specific aim of this proposal is to utilize the unique resources of the institution, including the Center for Infectious Diseases Research, the Immunobiology Section of the Department of Pathology and Immunology, the Genome Sequencing Center, and the Division of General Medical Sciences, to maintain a training program with a participating faculty of pediatricians, basic scientists, and clinical investigators who share common interests and frequent investigative and scholarly interactions. The program is intended to fund two PGY-4 and two PGY-5 MD or MD/PhD trainees for an initial two years of investigation and to emphasize the application of cell and molecular biologic approaches and rigorous clinical and epidemiologic methods to address common issues in childhood infection and immunity. Trainees will have access to sufficient space and resources and will benefit from the numerous educational activities within the institution, including didactic coursework, journal clubs, and relevant seminars. The substantial collaboration of established pediatric physician-scientists and basic and clinical investigators in other departments pursuing questions in microbial pathogenesis, immunology, and clinical infectious diseases provides a unique opportunity for the training of selected individuals in the application of experimental methods to the treatment and prevention of infectious and immunologic diseases in children. As such, this program should foster the development of new pediatric scholars to lead the way for future advances in these important areas of child health.
Pediatric Gastroenterology Research Training Program
Principal Investigator/Program Director: Phillip I. Tarr, MD
Research Fellow Support: 3 Postdocs (MDs or PhDs)
This program in academic investigative pediatric gastroenterology, nutrition, and hepatology will provide a two year immersion in research to physicians and scientists who wish to focus their training in areas relevant to these fields. The Program utilizes three tracks to leverage institutional, Department, and Division strengths, and pursue new concepts in investigative pediatric gastroenterology: Microbial– Host interactions in the Gastrointestinal Tract is formed in consideration of provocative data regarding host – flora interactions, strong pathogenesis and pathogen discovery groups at Washington University, the Washington University Genome Sequencing Center, and the Center for Genome Sciences and its gnotobiotic facility, which enables studies of host-microbial mutualism in the developing gut; Cellular and Molecular Biology of the Developing gastrointestinal Tract, exploits this institution’s strengths in modern biologic study of health and disease, and includes as mentors investigators who represent the traditional core of this Program; Translational Biology of the Gastrointestinal Tract allows for the study of disease processes in human hosts and populations. This Program will continue to use extensive oversight of trainees and embedded mentoring and evaluation mechanisms, and Washington University’s broad and deep research base, to train leaders in pediatric academic gastroenterology, nutrition, and hepatology.
Pediatric Training Program in Chronic Kidney Diseases
Principal Investigator/Program Director: Keith A. Hruska, MD
Research Fellow Support: 1 Postdoc (MDs or PhDs)
The objective of this program is to continue to foster the growth and development of pediatric physician-scientists in nephrology by supporting two postdoctoral candidates (MD or PhD) per year (at the PGY-4 level). There is a paramount need for individuals knowledgeable in this clinical area of pediatrics and skilled in modern scientific methods to provide new understanding and novel approaches to the treatment of childhood kidney disease and hypertension. The Division of Nephrology has exciting opportunities in clinical, translational and basic research related to new potential therapies for chronic kidney disease. This training program will be targeted toward the development of physician/scientists armed with the necessary skills to bring forward new therapies for chronic kidney diseases, especially in the pediatric population. The program faculty includes experienced individuals in five research areas: molecular and cellular biology, skeletal biology, clinical research, genetics of kidney disease, and chronic renal failure/pathophysiology. These program areas, each of which includes faculty from the Department of Pediatrics, will serve to foster collaborative interactions among faculty within the University and the Pediatric Nephrology Division. The shared similar interest is to provide trainees with the opportunity to develop their investigative careers and attack chronic kidney disease.
Training of the Pediatric Emergency Physician-Scientist
Principal Investigator/Program Director: David M. Jaffe, MD
Co-Program Director: F. Sessions Cole, MD
Research Fellow Support: 2 Postdocs (MDs)
The long-term objective of this program is to use this funding to promote the career development of young physician scientists who will become future leaders in biomedical research efforts dedicated to improving health outcomes for children with emergency medical conditions. The specific aims of this proposal are to identify potential trainees at the completion of their residency and to provide them with a two-year research experience in the laboratory of a qualified mentor, or with a comparably rigorous mentored patient-oriented research experience, protected from clinical and teaching responsibilities. The focus of the research will be on child health issues in pediatric emergency medicine, including high-priority patient-oriented research with emphasis on the relationship between catastrophic illness, emergency care, and long-term disabilities and molecular mechanisms of infection and immunity, cardiopulmonary disease and multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS).
We will achieve this goal by creating two tracks: (1) patient-oriented research, and (2) the molecular mechanisms of infection and immunity, cardiopulmonary disease, and MODS. Recent advances in cell, molecular and developmental biology will be applied to understanding the pathogenesis and treatment of infection and immunity, cardiopulmonary disease, and MODS. Similarly, rigorous patient-oriented research methods will be applied to improve outcomes of high-priority emergency medical and surgical diseases, using the full facilities of the WUMS and its Department of Pediatrics. We have in place a structure in which bright, motivated, young pediatricians will flourish in a protected environment and will emerge as leaders in this evolving area of pediatrics. The long-term goals will be realized as its trainees contribute to the development of and leadership as pediatric physician-scientists during the next two or more decades.
Training of the Pediatric Physician-Scientist
Principal Investigator/Program Director: Alan L. Schwartz, PhD, MD
Co-Program Director: Michael R. DeBaun, MD, MPH
Research Fellow Support: 4 Postdocs (MDs)
The long-term objective is to utilize this funding to promote the career development of young pediatric physician scientists who will become the future leaders in the biomedical research efforts dedicated to child health. The specific aims of this proposal are to identify potential trainees at the completion of their residency training or in the midst of fellowship training and to provide them with a three year research experience in the laboratory of a qualified mentor, protected from clinical and teaching responsibilities and with a specific research focus relevant to pediatrics. During the initial funding period ten excellent candidates were supported (including seven women and one under-represented minority). Our long-term objective and specific aims remain unchanged in this renewal application, however, we have significantly expanded the scope of our program with the development of two pathways (basic science and clinical/translational science).
We shall achieve our long-term objective by applying the recent advances in genetic and genomic sciences to an understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of a broad spectrum of diseases within the Pediatric arena. In order to accomplish this we shall combine the established areas of investigative strengths of the Washington University School of Medicine and its Department of Pediatrics. We have now incorporated a new area of emphasis (Pathway B), namely clinical and translational genomic medicine which includes genetic epidemiology, biostatistics, and patient oriented research. Our program will ultimately close the gap between basic biologists and pediatric clinicians. We have in place a structure in which bright, motivated, young pediatricians shall flourish in a protected environment and will emerge as leaders in an evolving area of Pediatrics. The long-term goals of the program will be realized as its trainees contribute to the development of and leadership as pediatric physician-scientists during the next two or more decades.
Training Program in Developmental Hematology
Principal Investigator/Program Director: Alan L. Schwartz, PhD, MD
Co-Program Director: David B. Wilson, MD, PhD
Research Fellow Support: 2 Postdocs (MDs)
This program will provide pediatric physicians (M.D.’s or M.D., Ph.D.’s) with postdoctoral research experience with the long-term goal of producing independent investigators capable of making important contributions to biomedical research. Trainees will be second- and third-year fellows recruited from the Hematology-Oncology fellowship program in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine. Trainees will participate in a formal seminar series that includes a discussion of current research in developmental hematology, along with didactic sessions in statistics, design of research, and the ethical conduct of research. Trainees may perform their postdoctoral research in a wide range of laboratories at Washington University, provided the research is relevant to the field of developmental hematology. It is anticipated that this award will support two new trainees per year for a duration of two years.