TRAINING PROGRAM IN ACADEMIC NEPHROLOGY

Stanford University, Stanford CA

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Abstract

The purpose of the training program in academic nephrology at Stanford, now in its fifteenth year, is to provide multi- disciplinary research training to trainees at the pre-doctoral or doctoral (M.D.'s or Ph.D.) level to prepare them for careers in academic nephrology. The program consists of a series of lectures and seminars by Stanford faculty, guest investigators, and the trainees themselves, journal clubs for critical analyses of the current literature and formal course work. The principal emphasis of the program, however, continues to be the energetic, continuous and closely supervised work by the trainees in the laboratories of six investigators in the Division of Nephrology, three in Pediatric Nephrology and eight in closely related fields, all of whom are actively engaged in research supported by external grants. The range of training opportunities is wide and includes studies of the regulation of the cytoskeleton and its disruption by injury, properties of the glomerular membrane,and its alteration in disease; function of the renal tubule and glomerulus in humans and experimental animals examined by such divergent techniques as micropuncture, dextran sieving clearances and magnetic resonance imaging; structural and immunological mechanisms of glomerular injury in glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome and transplant rejection; receptor binding studies, cell culture and biochemical techniques; and assessment of the effectiveness of health care policy of the treatment of patients with renal disease. The research areas of training include molecular biology, molecular physiology, immunology, transplantation, metabolism, pathophysiology, pathology and health science research. Preparation for an academic career includes training in the ability to teach. Each trainee gains experience in supervised teaching in lectures, seminars, and group discussions. Trainees. Currently there are 65 trainees supervised by the faculty. They include 13 predoctoral students and 52 postdoctoral fellows. Four trainees are annually supported by our NIH training grant. Selection of the applicants is based on past performance and academic promise. The program is usually two or three years in duration. Training Facilities. At Stanford University Medical School: Well equipped research laboratories in the Department of Medicine (Divisions of Cardiovascular Medicine and Nephrology, Clinical Research Center and the Falk Cardiovascular Research Building), Department of Pediatrics (Division of Pediatric Nephrology), Department of Surgery (Division of Multi-Organ Transplant Surgery), Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology in the Beckman Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine Research Building, Department of Pathology and Department of Radiology (Lucas Magnetic Resource Center); Fleischmann Learning Resource Center; and Lane Medical Library. At Palo Alto Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center: Well equipped research laboratories in the Medical Service (Nephrology Division, Clinical Research Center), and the VA Center for Molecular and Genetic Medicine in the Foothill Research Building.