Pulmonary Genetic Medicine Training Program

Weill Medical Coll Of Cornell Univ, New York NY

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Abstract

We propose to initiate a Pulmonary Genetic Medicine Training Program at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, in collaboration with colleagues at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. The Program will include 6 trainees, each for 1.5 to 3 yr. The Program takes advantage of existing funded multi-investigator collaborations, focusing on genetic approaches to understanding lung disease. Under the direction of R. Crystal, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Genetic Medicine, Chief of the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, the Program will incorporate 23 faculty members. Dr. Crystal will be assisted by 3 Associate Directors, an internal Executive Committee, a Committee on Recruitment and Retention, and an External Advisory Committee. The goal is to provide MD, MD/PhD, PhD and MD/post-doctoral trainees multi-disciplinary training focused on understanding the genetic basis of pulmonary disease. The training includes 4 areas: (1) genomics and gene expression; (2) epidemiology and phenotyping; (3) statistical genetics and bioinformatics, and (4) ethics and regulatory affairs. The Training Program complements traditional mentored research projects with group meetings and individualized mentoring, as well as required and optional didactic lectures focused on each of these areas. Also, to complement their primary mentor, all trainees will have a personal advisory committee, comprised of senior and junior mentors with diverse expertise, that will meet quarterly to review progress towards training milestones. The Training Program also includes weekly Personalized Medicine meetings where trainees present their work and interact with other trainees and mentors. Finally, strategies are in place for insuring career mentoring and formal evaluation of trainees and faculty. RELEVANCE (See instructions): Recent developments in technology now permit analysis of a person's genes and measure how these genes function. To translate that knowledge into future personalized therapies for lung disease, the Weill Cornell Pulmonary Genetic Medicine Training Program will train physicians and scientists to perform research that provides an understanding of the relationship between the genome, the environment and the risk for pulmonary disease.