Addressing Evolving Infectious Threats

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Society faces increasing threats from infectious diseases, from growing antimicrobial resistance to emerging novel pathogens to pervasive misinformation about vaccines. A robust response including infectious diseases physician-scientists is critical to meet these challenges, requiring diverse expertise from bench research to social science and health policy research with translational relevance to infectious diseases. Our goal is to train such individuals through the infectious diseases fellowship programs at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. This T32 program will support MD or MD-PhD trainees who are pursuing subspecialty fellowships in adult or pediatric Infectious Diseases seeking training for an independent research career. It will provide dedicated mentorship and protected time to foster a pathway to independence. Required clinical training will be front-loaded in the first year of the fellowship, leaving at least 85% protected time for two additional years of dedicated research training and career development. Each fellow will select a mentorship team from any of the broad and deep departments and research faculty at UCLA and affiliated academic institutions. A primary research mentor will directly oversee research activities, and the team will provide complementary guidance on the scientific project as well as the skills required for academic advancement including publishing, competing for grant funding, and navigating career advancement in academia. This program will include four yearly slots (two fellows each for two years of training) for MD or MD-PhD postdoctoral trainees. The key trainee outcomes include producing publications/abstracts, obtaining career development funding (NIH K award or equivalent), and eventual transitioning to an independent career as a physician-scientist.