Career Enhancement Core

Career Enhancement Core ABSTRACT / PROJECT SUMMARY The Career Enhancement Core (CEC) of this U54 Application proposes an integrated set of educational and research support activities to foster development of research at UCLA in women's health and sex as a biological factor in disease (WH/SABV), especially related to sex differences in the metabolic syndrome. The project will support a pilot and feasibility grant program, to provide seed funding each year to novel research projects that investigate WH/SABV, attracting new junior and established investigators to this area and fostering their professional development. The CEC will support novel educational programs at UCLA, aimed at every level of the university, especially undergraduates, but also including doctoral students, residents and fellows, and young and established faculty. A new program is proposed “Introduction to SABV Research Concepts and Methods” to develop early-stage undergraduates and recruit them to SABV research. A core advanced undergraduate course will be taught, “Sex Differences in Physiology and Disease”. New lectures on diverse topics related to SABV will be videotaped and streamed from the online UCLA SABV Video Library, to enhance education on SABV internationally. CEC faculty will consult extensively one-on-one with established investigators who are learning best practices for embarking on research in SABV in animal models of disease.