Indo-US Fogarty Training Program in Behavioral Disorders

Washington University, Saint Louis MO

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

[unreadable] DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This proposal is a competing renewal for five additional years of support for a joint training program between India and US investigators in the areas of epidemiology, nosology, services research, and genetics to study major psychiatric public health problems affecting people in the Indian sub-continent. The program has gained considerable momentum; trainees from the original program are fulfilling the vision of solid, evidence-based psychiatric research in India. Re-entry grants have allowed trainees the opportunity to gain state of the art research experience and bring that experience back to their home country to address major global health problems. Our program is multidisciplinary and holistic, reflecting the wide range of expertise required for understanding the complex etiology of psychiatric and behavioral disorders which contribute significantly to the global burden of disease. Additionally, this program has recruited, enrolled, and retained predominately MD scientists, a significant challenge facing all training programs. Investigators from Washington University School of Medicine, paired with those from the National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), will continue to provide an excellent environment for collaborative and multidisciplinary training in all aspects of clinical psychiatry research, epidemiology, nosology, services research, and genetics. We aim to: Aim 1: Continue the momentum already begun training outstanding postdoctoral trainees in India for long-term multidisciplinary training in psychiatric epidemiology, nosology, services research, and human genetics. Aim 2: Strengthen and enrich academic programs at NIMHANS and simultaneously at WU by providing: (i) Short and intermediate term fellowships.(ii) Courses in the Master in Psychiatric Epidemiology Program (MPE) and other courses offered in our Medical School or local School of Public Health so that trainees who have excelled, upon return to India, can introduce the curriculum there, (iii) Visits of US faculty to NIMHANS and vice versa. Aim 3: Implement strategies to increase the national and international research structure by:(i) Recruitment of trainees from multiple sites who will return to their home institutions, (ii) Continued growth of individual and multidisciplinary research studies at NIMHANS. (iii) Expansion of training and research facilities at NIMHANS. (iv) Provide training in the responsible conduct of research that is culturally relevant yet meets the guidelines of 45CFR46 of the US Government and begin development of a bioethics incubator to address the issues of conflict, responsible authorship, policies for handling misconduct, data management, data sharing, and policies regarding the use of human and animal subjects. Aim 4: Interact with other Fogarty Training Programs via satellite and other web based electronic communication efforts to share curriculum and training experiences in a "virtual collaboratory" to enhance our programs. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]