Developing Pediatric Endocrinologist for the Future

University Of Colorado Denver, Aurora CO

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

Enter the text here that is the new abstract information for your application. This section must be no longer than 30 lines of text. This application is a proposal for a Fellowship training program in pediatric endocrinology and post-doctoral psychology, designed to provide multidisciplinary training in diabetes research at the Barbara Davis Center (BDC), and Children’s Hospital Colorado (CHC) at the University of Colorado (UC). Funding is requested for two years of research training for three Pediatric Endocrinology trainees and one PhD psychologist in each year of the Program. The proposal’s rationale is: 1) There is a critical shortage of pediatric endocrinologists and psychologists trained in diabetes research 2) Diabetes is an increasingly significant healthcare problem in the pediatric population with devastating consequences from a personal and health economics viewpoint 3) Current rapid advances in diabetes investigation calls for an increased pool of physician scientists trained in clinical, biochemical, epidemiological, and behavioral research to carry out basic and translational research in pediatric type 1 (T1D) and type 2 diabetes (T2D) to bring advances in diabetes research to the clinical arena. Psychologists training in behavioral research beside physicians will add strength to the physician program and contribute diabetes research trained psychologists to the very small pool of these important specialists. The BDC and CHC have an extensive and proven record in research training of young investigators. A strong endocrinology program at CHC, in addition to a research program in T2D, will provide a well-rounded pediatric endocrinology training program. The BDC, CHC and the wider UC have well-established investigators in epidemiology, pathophysiology, immunobiology, genetics, and molecular biology of T1D and T2D. This network of experienced mentors is ideally suited to develop the next generation of young pediatric endocrinologists prepared for a career as diabetes investigators. Areas of research focus within the BDC include developmental islet cell biology, genetics, immunology, autoimmunity, prediction and prevention of T1D, as well as the epidemiology of and novel treatments for T1D and T2D. The integration of psychologists training in diabetes behavioral research will add importance and depth to the Program. These areas of research are urgently needed and have been identified as important to the national public health to address diabetes in the US. The ability to provide strong didactic courses in statistics, epidemiology, research methods, ethics and regulation of human research, medical writing, molecular biology and genetics, combined with a strong mentoring faculty will allow us to provide the training required to develop pediatric endocrinologists and psychologists into the scientists needed for the leaders of tomorrow.