UAB Pre-Doctoral Training Program in Obesity-Related Research

University Of Alabama At Birmingham, Birmingham AL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Project Summary Obesity is a major source of morbidity and mortality, and especially of heart, lung, and blood– related morbidity and mortality. This renewal application for a highly successful interdisciplinary predoctoral training program offers coordinated mentorship, didactic training, career development activities, and supervised research experiences to prepare PhD students for careers as independent investigators. The established predoctoral program will build on three successful funding cycles and complements and interfaces with our existing NIH-funded T32 program for postdoctoral training in obesity research. Students entering their second year of PhD training enroll in a formal integrated program tailored to individual interests. Trainees participate in the investigative programs of UAB’s NIH-funded Nutrition Obesity Research Center, one of only 11 such centers nation-wide. Each trainee has an individual mentoring team consisting of a primary mentor and two co-mentors with one mentor from each of three major disciplinary domains (biological/medical; behavioral/social; quantitative/theoretical). The faculty’s disciplinary diversity (nutritionists, exercise scientists, physicians, psychologists, statisticians, physiologists, geneticists, epidemiologists, etc.) and strong collaborative ties facilitate multidisciplinary training. Students from any UAB department may apply to this program, but trainees must have a mentoring team from this T32 program’s approved faculty. All students, regardless of their departmental affiliation, participate in all activities and coursework for this T32 program. Individuals are recruited from the large pool of eligible first-year PhD students on campus and are selected via formal application and committee review, based on graduate school performance, faculty recommendations, and consideration of the degree to which their interests fit with those of the faculty and ongoing research programs. All trainees must plan to pursue an investigative career in obesity-related research. The program promotes an approach to investigation that is scientifically and ethically rigorous. Individual trainees’ regular reviews with the program directors ensure that they make adequate progress toward an independent research career. We have shown great success in attracting talented trainees and guiding them toward careers as independent scientists. Our program is currently funded for eight trainee slots, and we request continued support at this level.