Developmental Brain Science from Bench to Bedside

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is a rapidly evolving, interdisciplinary subspecialty investigating influences on maternal-fetal dyads with repercussions spanning prenatal life through adulthood. Recent technological advancements have led to significant progress in our understanding of DOHaD as it relates to brain development. The UT Southwestern (UTSW) T32 Training Program in Developmental Brain Science (DBS) from Bench to Bedside will equip clinical and postdoctoral fellows with the knowledge and technical expertise to conduct rigorous, translational research that will improve human health. This program will meet an urgent need to bolster the leaky pipeline of highly trained pediatric/ developmental clinicians and scientists who forego research careers due to lack of mentoring and/or support. We propose to select three trainees each year for a 2-year appointments from a pool of 20 eligible clinical fellows or post docs. Trainees will be integrated into the UTSW biomedical research community to receive specialized training and participating in individualized career development activities that prepare them to become leaders in DBS. Lina Chalak, MD, MSCS is the inaugural DBS T32 Program Director, and a leader in neonatal neurology with 20 years of sustained NIH funding. She brings a unique combination of content expertise in developmental brain science with a passion and track record of excellence in mentoring. The Associate Program Directors (APDs) are her former mentees and leaders in their own right: Imran Mir, MD is the Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine (NPM) Fellowship Director and Rachel Leon, MD, MSCS, PhD is Associate Director of the Neonatal NeuroCritical Care Fellowship. This multilevel T32 Program Leadership team is eager to give back to the scientific community through mentoring excellence. The primary goal of this training program is to provide a supportive environment and comprehensive training in the tools, technologies, systems, and scientific approaches relevant to DBS research. The first objective is the research-focused success of trainees – the intended program outcome, measured by (a) short-term metrics including publications, obtaining research-focused positions, career development awards, and independent funding; and (b) long-term metrics, including research-based awards/honors, promotion in research careers, and scientific leadership positions. The second program objective is to foster a collaborative research environment through a novel program design of Mentor Dyads working with trainees in Hubs of Expertise. Success of this objective will be tracked by cross-disciplinary manuscripts, co-mentorship, joint grant submissions, and co-creation of innovative programs. Key activities of the DBS T32 Program include formal didactics in clinical investigations, an annual symposium, individualized development plans, and research progress tracked against specific program milestones. Importantly, over the past decade, >70% of UTSW NPM graduates have remained in research careers, with a high institutional retention rate. We will build on this success to equip DBS T32 trainees with the tools needed to succeed in research-focused careers in brain science.