SCHIZOPHRENIA RESEARCH TRAINING

Columbia University Health Sciences, New York NY

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The overall purpose of this training program is to increase the number of researchers is the area of schizophrenia who have the ability to apply modern techniques of clinical research and incorporate recent developments is neuroscience into their investigations. Training in the disciplines of psychopharmacology, brain imaging, genetics, neuropathology, neuropsychology, molecular neurobiology and epidemiology will be offered by participating faculty actively engaged is schizophrenia-related research. All members have federally-funded research projects. The training will develop research skills by supervised participation is ongoing research, but the trainee will be expected to construct and execute independent projects as well. Didactic work focuses on research design and statistics, and a weekly schizophrenia research seminar reviews current schizophrenia research in all areas. Trainees for the project will primarily be psychiatrists who have completed both their medical school training and 4 years of residency. These trainees have had considerable experience with the diagnosis and treatment of major psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, but are likely to lack specific research skills such as developing testable hypotheses, designing a feasible research study acceptable to institutional review boards, and the collection and analysis of standardized research data. In addition to these MD psychiatrists, we expect that we will recruit MD/PhD psychiatrists with a background in basic science research. PhD psychologists, MD neurologists, and PhD biologists with a special interest in schizophrenia. We will adapt the training to suit their background and interests. Eight stipends are requested to support 2 to 3 fellows per year, with most projected to receive some support for a third year of training. This program will be conducted at the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center (CPC) in Queens, NY, and the Columbia-Presbyterian campus of the New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYPH), by faculty members of Columbia University at these institutions. With a total of over fifty million dollars annually is federal grants, a research institute with 64 beds (including a 12 bed designated schizophrenia inpatient research unit funded by NYS at NYSPI), another 25 research beds at CPC similarly funded, an NIMH schizophrenia center grant, a Hughes Institute, and 5 other MHCRCs, there exists the research personnel and clinical facilities to continue to execute this proposed training program, which has had excellent success is its training efforts thus far.