Biomedical Alcohol Research Training Program

Lsu Health Sciences Center, New Orleans LA

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center (LSUHSC)-New Orleans Biomedical Alcohol Research Training Program (BARTP) brings together outstanding predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows from diverse backgrounds and disciplines (representing the basic, clinical, public health sciences) to train with an interdisciplinary group of scientists and experienced mentors focused on studying the biomedical consequences of alcohol misuse, specifically on alcohol’s impact on comorbid conditions. Our holistic and integrative approach to trainee professional development provides opportunities for exploration and consideration of a wide range of advanced career opportunities in biomedical, healthcare, policy, and advocacy fields and uses personalized and regularly updated Individual Development Plans (IDPs) to guide each trainee’s longitudinal experience. Primary and support faculty from the LSUHSC-New Orleans Schools of Medicine and Public Health collaborate to provide interdisciplinary training and mentoring in diverse areas of alcohol research in addition to specialty training, including experimental design and statistical analysis, scientific rigor and reproducibility, biomedical ethics, use of animals and human subjects in research, and translational approaches. Trainees will pursue alcohol research projects under four interrelated themes: 1) Alcohol/HIV disease; 2) Neurobiology of alcohol use disorder (AUD) and dependence 3) Alcohol and comorbidities; and 4) Alcohol and microbiome. Training and mentoring in a transdisciplinary environment with access to rodent and non-human primate models as well as opportunities to engage in clinical and translational studies provide a broad range of scientific areas for research training. Didactic and educational programs, including the focused study of alcohol research-related ethics and near-peer mentoring opportunities, enrich and integrate predoctoral and postdoctoral trainee development. Participation in a professional development program designed to increase trainees’ knowledge in the alcohol research field, rigorous experimental design and execution, data analysis, grantsmanship, and administrative and regulatory aspects necessary to conduct research is complemented with training and mentoring in written and oral communication skills to further their professional development. Five predoctoral trainees in the PhD or MD/PhD combined program and four postdoctoral fellows (MD, DVM, and/or PhD) will be recruited to the program each year. Emphasis is placed on recruitment of outstanding candidates from the combined MD/PhD program. Furthermore, efforts to continue recruitment, mentoring, and retention of meritorious fellows will be emphasized. Importantly, this program leverages and expands the outstanding scientific environment and networking opportunities created by the NIAAA-funded LSUHSC Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center (CARC).