Duke-UNC Collaborative Pediatric Clinical Pharmacology Postdoctoral Training Program

ABSTRACT Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) have had, for the past 9 years, a successful T32 postdoctoral training program in adult and pediatric clinical pharmacology that builds on our exceptional research environment with world-class programs in pediatric drug discovery, drug development, pharmacokinetics/ pharmacodynamics, and drug safety. This new application aims to secure continued funding of pediatric positions for the pediatric clinical pharmacology training program component. The demand for pediatric clinical pharmacologists is high, and we have an outstanding track record of training clinician- scientists, including pediatricians, to meet the growing workforce needs in this field. We have an excellent and diverse applicant pool with many more qualified applicants than funded positions. This new application describes our 2-year training program (3 trainees/year), which offers strong leadership, internationally- recognized mentors from multiple disciplines who are actively involved in pediatric clinical pharmacology, a wide-array of cutting edge technologies and resources, and a uniquely collaborative environment with strong institutional support. The national applicant pool for this program is derived primarily from MDs in pediatric medical specialty training programs seeking a career path in pediatric clinical pharmacology, and also from PharmDs in advanced clinical/translational research training. Trainees, guided by individualized development plans and mentoring teams, complete pediatric clinical pharmacology coursework and engage in program- specific activities to gain expertise in all aspects of contemporary pediatric clinical pharmacology research in preparation for successful academic, regulatory or industrial careers as leaders and mentors to future generations of pediatric clinical pharmacologists. Experienced faculty mentors are chosen based on their research productivity in at least one of four focus areas that form the core of this training program: Drug Disposition and Action; Quantitative Pharmacology/Pharmacometrics & Clinical Trial Design; Individualized Therapy; Drug-induced Organ Toxicity. Novel components of this pediatric training program include an increased focus on precision dosing, use of real-world data, and pharmacometrics; pilot programs to expand pediatric clinical pharmacology training in specialty and innovative areas including pregnancy and lactation; enhanced professional development opportunities; and expansion of collaborations with other T32 programs. A unique feature of this training program is the strength in pediatric pharmacometrics training. The keen interest in pediatric clinical pharmacology within our trainee pool, the unparalleled investment in pediatric clinical pharmacology research resources at Duke and UNC, the intellectually-rich biomedical science environment of Research Triangle Park, and our longstanding excellent research and training infrastructure combine to create a moment of unsurpassed opportunity for training in pediatric clinical pharmacology.