Clinical and Translational Research Training in Geriatric Mental Health

This proposal requests support for the five-year continuation of our NIMH-funded institutional training grant, “Clinical and Translational Research Training in Late-Life Mood Disorders” (T32 MH019986), Years 26-30. The primary goal of this two-year post-doctoral fellowship (three years in selected case) is to provide rigorous training in the basic foundations and methodologic tools necessary for successful clinical and translational investigation in geriatric mental health and psychiatry. The fellowship is designed for MDs and PhDs in the behavioral sciences (four post-doctoral fellows annually). Consistent with NIMH priorities, the focus of training in the new funding period will be translational and computational approaches for treatment development, as well as interventions and mental health services research. Research training is designed to be broadly multidisciplinary from bioengineering to community-based research. The most important components of the training program are apprenticeship with an academically successful mentor, a structured training plan facilitated by a network of committed faculty, and supportive environment to foster each trainees’ unique strength. Trainees develop core skills and knowledge in grant writing and research project management by participating in a weekly career and research development seminar, and bi-weekly meetings with the various researchers in geriatric mental health. A wide range of didactic offerings is available and is prescribed on an individual basis. All fellows participate in ongoing training in the responsible conduct of research. The second goal of the program is to provide research training opportunities, in the form research electives, to rising medical students, in order to attract a talented group of medical students into psychiatric research careers. We propose to continue funding two summer research elective slots annually through this training program, as well as one year-long medical student research fellowship. Both components of the program, pre- and post-doctoral, are part of a broad research training strategy at the University of Pittsburgh Department of Psychiatry, to respond to a national shortage of researchers in geriatric mental health. The Department fosters many research career development activities for students and faculty at all levels. This training grant both contributes to and benefits from this developmental strategy.