Neuroscience Resident Research Program

ABSTRACT This is an R25 program renewal proposal describing the Research Training Program for Neurology and Neurosurgery Residents at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) of Harvard Medical School (HMS). The program combines a broad variety of collaborative research opportunities available at these campuses together with a dedicated group of neuroscience mentors. Further, our mentors are aligned in a two-tiered system that includes a ‘research’ mentor who is directly responsible for the scientific activities of the candidate and a secondary ‘gateway’ mentor who is additionally responsible for oversight and career development of the R25 candidate. Research mentors are selected from a vast field of research scientists at our two institutions together with those of the Boston area. The gateway mentors are selected on the basis of research activity, experience guiding clinicians in the early stages of successful research careers, and commitment to this program in order to develop our residents into effective physician- scientists. In addition, a steering committee oversees all aspects of the resident research training experience and provide guidance to trainees on mentor selection and grant submissions. This program has already proven to be tremendously successful in its first 14 years of funding. The R25 program has sponsored 76 trainees (including those still in the program), many of whom have produced high-impact first author publications as well as earned foundation and K12, K23 and K08 funding soon after completing this program. Many have also gone on to become academic faculty at institutions across the country and have developed highly productive research careers with consistent NIH funding support. Altogether, the programmatic structure provided in this renewal builds on the past success of our program and aims to ensure that our Neurology and Neurosurgical residents obtain the highest level of training possible. It also aims to ensure that we continue to foster the development of outstanding physician-scientists through our combined Neurology and Neurosurgery programs.