Gastroenterology

PROJECT SUMMARY The primary goal of the UCLA NIH T32 GI Training grant is to continue to train the next generation of outstanding GI academic thought leaders. The T32 program supports 6 trainees/year including Adult and Pediatric GI fellows, General Surgery residents, and other UCLA post-doctoral trainees. The T32 training period is 2 years except for the UCLA STAR (Specialized Training in Academic Research) fellows who may be funded for 2 or 3 years for PhD's completion. In this competing renewal application, the level of support requested is for 6 trainees/year. Our specific objectives are to: 1) Recruit and train the most outstanding, committed, and promising trainees as specified above including underrepresented minorities and women; 2) Support T32 post-graduate training at UCLA including PhD or masters programs and graduate coursework. 3) Provide mentored research training by dedicated, experienced, and successful faculty and also career development in individualized structured research programs. We will accomplish these goals by: 1) Individualizing career development and guidance by the mentors and other faculty career advisors through personalized advocacy, structuring independent research projects, and graduate education. 2) Continuing opportunities for rigorous interaction of trainees with UCLA GI leaders, successful investigators, and visiting professors as well as through enrichment programs, annual scientific GI research meetings, and research workshops from the UCLA:DDRCC; UCLA Departments of Medicine, Surgery, Pediatric, Pathology, and Basic Sciences; and the UCLA CTSI. 3) Sustaining a multi-disciplinary administrative T32 leadership structure that has been successful in supporting and regularly interacting with the faculty and trainees, is highly responsive to trainees' requests and needs, and has evolved through strategic planning and continuous feedback. The T32 leadership and UCLA program directors will also facilitate transition to junior faculty positions through career development workshops and individually advising the trainees. These specific objectives are to be implemented by an administrative leadership of four dedicated investigators: the PD/PI Dennis Jensen, MD who is a clinical investigator, very experienced as the T32 director for 20 years; and three co-Directors - Yvette Taché, PhD (a senior neuro-gastroenterologist and basic scientist); Joseph Pisegna, MD (a physician-scientist in basic and translational research); and Martin G. Martin, MD (a pediatric physician-scientist in genetics and basic intestinal luminal research). There are 34 participating mentoring faculty and a T32 Executive Committee who provide excellent opportunities for mentored research training, career guidance, and advocacy by insuring ethical conduct of research and individualized training so that all T32 awardees are successful as physician- or surgeon scientists and other independent investigators in gastroenterology.