Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT This application proposes continuation of the successful Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in AIDS (IRTPA) at Duke University, home to an outstanding group of faculty mentors and the Duke Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). The portfolio of funding (~$65.3M total for HIV/AIDS research), including new grants to help retain and recruit young investigators, provides a wide range of opportunities for research with the scientists who comprise the IRTPA faculty. Over 34 years, our program has had considerable success, consistently filling all six training slots at a time. Ninety-nine percent of our 90 research trainees (35 MDs, 52 PhDs, 2 MD/PhD, 1 DO) have been productive in academia, biomedical research, or public health. Over the past 15 years, graduates have successfully competed for K, R, U, DP and other NIH awards totaling over $29.5 million in total funding. These achievements reflect the careful selection of highly qualified and motivated young researchers, nurtured in an exceptionally rich training environment by qualified mentors. Objectives and Rationale. Our vision is to continue providing innovative interdisciplinary training for the next generation of scientists. The program will equip postdoctoral scientists with critical skills to develop solutions for the most pressing challenges in HIV prevention, treatment, and the management of associated co- morbidities. Research Training Program. Trainees will engage in the program for two to three year appointments and choose from one of two Laboratory-based Research Opportunities in I. HIV Immunology or II. HIV/Viral Pathogenesis, or one of four Clinically-oriented Research Opportunities in I. Adult Clinical HIV/Infectious Diseases, II. Vertical Transmission and Prevention, III. National and Global HIV/AIDS, or IV. Social and Behavioral Sciences. Individualized training plans will be augmented by well-defined Enrichment Opportunities: Duke Scholars in Molecular Medicine, Human Vaccines, Health Policy-Global HIV, Biomedical Engineering, and Computational Biology and Bioinformatics. Trainees must complete required training activities such as Responsible Conduct of Research, Human and Animal Research, Scientific Writing, Grant Development/Grant Writing, Presentation Skills, Science Communication, Data Integrity, and Statistics for Biomedical Sciences. With this award, we aim to train an additional 14 post-doctoral MD and PhD level researchers to lead high-impact research efforts toward ending the HIV epidemic.