Training in Behavioral and Preventative Medicine

Project Summary This is a resubmission of our T32 entitled “Training in Behavioral and Preventive Medicine” based at the Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center (WCDRC) in affiliation with the Center of Behavioral and Preventive Medicine (CBPM) at The Miriam Hospital and Brown University. During this next cycle, we plan to train 15 postdoctoral fellows for two-year periods to conduct research to reduce the burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) by targeting the most prominent lifestyle risk factors, namely obesity, physical inactivity, and smoking. Given the focus on behavior and the expertise of our mentors, we propose to primarily train PhDs. Our success is highlighted by the fact that 13 of the 14 fellows who completed training in this recent cycle have faculty appointments and 12 have support for their research. Prior fellows were equally successful. A goal for this next cycle is to increase the number of fellows from underrepresented racial/ethnic minority groups. This T32 trains researchers to develop and disseminate effective interventions targeting behaviors associated with CVD risk. The approach requires multidisciplinary training facilitated by the ongoing collaborations between the WCDRC, CBPM, Brown Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Department of Medicine, and School of Public Health. Our focus continues to be on changing lifestyle risk factors. However, our training continues to evolve with the science, and we now highlight 3 exciting new directions: the importance of prevention and thus the need to consider early antecedents and early intervention; the use of new methodologies to optimize and disseminate effective interventions; and improving treatments for underserved and overburdened populations. We have extensive ongoing research in each of these areas. We have retained and augmented our successful training model for this cycle. Program Director Rena Wing, PhD, continues in her leadership capacity and Drs. Elissa Jelalian and John Graham Thomas are Associate Directors; they work closely with the Executive Committee, all of whom have expertise in relevant research areas and in training of postdoctoral fellows. Training is highly individualized with all fellows developing core competencies in CVD- related behavioral research and specialized competencies in their specific areas of research through a combination of formal didactics and mentored research experiences. Mentoring teams are headed by a Primary Mentor, with expertise in behavioral medicine assessment and intervention who has prior experience in mentoring and receives formal training in mentoring and cultural sensitivity. A secondary mentor is selected with methodological expertise or content area (public health; cardiology, pediatrics) relevance to the specific trainee. There is a formal evaluation of mentors, trainees, and the overall training program. We feel uniquely qualified to continue our T32 research training in behavior change and CVD.