Translational Immunology Training Program

Project Summary/Abstract This is a competitive renewal T32 application from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), concentrating on pre- and post-doctoral training program in Translational Immunology by D Bogunovic and S Lira - Co-PDs. Our training program will continue to a) enhance translational immunology training through comprehensive exposures and cross disciplinary trainings b) leverage faculty and institutional resources, as well as a immunology-focused infrastructure (including education, career development and evaluation processes) to further enhance the efficiency of the training experience. Our success over the past 20 years in attracting and training pre- and post-doctoral MD, PhD and MD/PhD trainees into immunology research careers is testament to our dedication. Furthermore 1) there is the continued need for improving outcomes of immune-mediated diseases 2) our desire to positively impact the education of future basic and translational investigators in immunology, and 3) the fact that our training environment and research foci are well-suited to offer diverse basic and translational immunology research opportunities for trainees. The exceptional ability of Mount Sinai's immunology community to make fundamental discoveries, to translate the results into novel and effective diagnostic and therapeutic strategies, and to incorporate pre- and post-doc training into its research mission underscores the significance of this training program. The overall objective of this program is to attract and train talented MD/PhD and PhD students and post-docs over 2 year periods, for successful, independent careers in immunology relevant to human disease. We have a diverse, well-funded faculty with broad interest in immunology and a strong pool of pre- and post-doc trainees that includes significant numbers of underrepresented in science. The program is designed to provide training by individual mentors performing research in all aspects of immunology relevant to human disease. The program is supported with strong oversight and administrative structure, significant didactic training in immunology, scientific writing and career development, and contains newly added state of the art evaluation approaches with defined goals and benchmarks for success.