A Biobehavioral Research Training Grant

Project Abstract: This is an application for competitive renewal of an institutional training grant that to date has trained 89 postdoctoral fellows for careers in preclinical, clinical and translational research in psychiatric disorders. Physician trainees are eligible if they have completed the PGY 3 year of psychiatry training or PGY 4 year of neurology; psychology trainees are eligible if they have completed an APA approved clinical internship. Fellows work with a mentor who is a member of the Stanford University faculty for a period of two years on projects related to the clinical/biological (including brain imaging) phenomenology, basic neuroscience (including optogenetics and organoids), and translational treatment outcomes of psychiatric disorders. The Program includes seminars in research methodology, clinical research design and statistical analysis. Additionally, all fellows are required to take a course focused on ethics in medical research and are encouraged to take the course in reproducibility of evidence. They have access to a wide array of elective courses and workshops offered at Stanford University. Mentorship emphasizes the development of an independent career. Fellows are expected to design and conduct their own research projects and are mentored in applying for funding to support their research post fellowship. An Executive Committee provides program oversight including continual review trainees' progress towards their individual goals and the of the training program. The Program is now in its 29th year. Fifty postgraduate trainees (MDs, MD/PhDs and PhDs) have been in the program in the past 15 years. Graduating fellows have been successful in obtaining faculty positions around the US and Canada (e.g., Stanford University, Weil-Cornell, Medical College, Yale University, UCSF, U. Pennsylvania, U Texas at Austin, Baylor, etc.) A strong majority continue to be involved in mental health research and have obtained funding to support their research, including NIH Career Development Awards: R01's; NIMH Director Awards (e.g., BRAINS and Pioneer Awards), Simons Foundation Awards, Welcome Trust Awards, NARSAD Young Investigator Awards, Klingenstein Foundation Awards, and other foundation grants. Building on the success of our program in attaining its goals, we aim to continue to train promising clinically trained fellows to become independent mental health researchers working to advance mental health care.