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Grant prepares clinical investigators MUSC’s new Southeastern Predoctoral Training in Clinical Research (SPTCR) will provide clinical and translational research training for doctoral students in dentistry, graduate studies, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and health professions. The SPTCR program was funded along with programs at 10 other research institutions across the country to receive about $6.7 million in NIH funding to support these areas of research.      “This is an achievement that should be celebrated by everyone at MUSC,” said Perry V. Halushka, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the College of Graduate Studies.   Halushka was among a team of T32 grant team collaborations which included Barbara Tilley, Ph.D., chairman of the Department of Biostatistics, Bioinformatics and Epidemiology and the grant’s principal investigator; Thomas Hulsey, ScD., director, Master of Science in Clinical Science (MSCR) program; and Erica Blender, program coordinator, MSCR. SPTCR Curriculum The program begins May 8 to July 21 with an 11-week summer research program followed in the next one to three years by a one-year pull out continuation of the summer program. The one-year pull out will be scheduled at a time best suited to the student’s doctoral program and need not immediately follow the summer program. The SPTCR program is open to 20 qualified students per year starting in 2006. Twelve slots are funded by the grant; five are funded by the Office of the Provost and deans from some of the six colleges, plus three slots for alternates. Students receive an NIH stipend, tuition, fees and paid health insurance. This competitive program is open to MUSC students in a recognized doctoral program (M.D., DMD, Pharm.D., DHA, and DPT). The deadline to apply for the 2006 SPTCR summer program is March 6.      Described as rigorous and challenging, the program will prepare doctoral students to become highly-skilled, clinical investigators able to work in multidisciplinary environments and settings. Program participants will learn basic principles and practice of clinical investigation and approaches to applying innovative, cutting-edge technologies such as proteomics, genomics, functional MRI, and 64-slice Computed Tomography (CT) to clinical research problems.      Students, working in interdisciplinary teams, will attend lectures, seminars, be exposed to cutting-edge technology, and complete course work relating to learning a variety of scientific research methods. The goal for this experience is to help participants find a focus for their clinical research or translational research project. Students will then complete the one-year, full-time pull out period dedicated to advanced training and the conduct of a clinical research project based on the area of focus identified during the summer program.      The SPTCR curriculum will include basic skills in biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical trials, health services research, measurement, recruitment and retention of diverse populations in clinical research, outcomes research, plus and introduction to applications in cutting-edge research tech-nologies. Upon completion of the program, students will receive a MSCR or may elect to pursue a Ph.D. in addition to their program degree. Attracting the Best Students Aside from expanding and developing a new cadre of clinical investigators, the program has long-term potential for attracting and retaining the state and region’s brightest scientific-minded talent.   “Clinical investigation is the heart and soul of the advancement of medicine,” said Jerry Reves, M.D., vice president for medical affairs and dean of the College of Medicine. “Our students must understand that they are to apply the knowledge that comes from clinical research in the care of patients.”   Reves feels the T32 award is important to the College of Medicine and institution for multiple reasons.   “For medical students, it exposes them to the concepts of clinical research—a position in the curriculum that emphasizes the importance of clinical investigation. It also allows for a summer of in-depth exploration of clinical investigation and prepares individuals who are interested in a lifetime aspect of research as part of their professional life to gain a head start in clinical research as part of their professional life and to gain a head start in clinical research during their medical schooling,” Reves said. “Finally, the program provides an interdisciplinary (intercollegiate) experience that teaches medical students about the varied approaches to all of medicine and introduces them early to interaction with other health professional students.” NIH Roadmap This training grant is a building block of the NIH’s Roadmap Initiative to enhance interdisciplinary research through the creation of Clinical and Translational Science Awards. Using these awards, NIH hopes to enhance clinical networks and academic health science centers and develop new technologies to manage clinical research information, improve clinical outcome assessments and support research training and development. The SPCTR research program at MUSC addresses the Roadmap by establishing a multidisciplinary clinical research training program to help prepare the nation’s next generation of clinical investigators.   “Because MUSC has this piece of the Roadmap in place,” said Tilley, “we will be at an advantage as we compete for additional funding through the Roadmap Clinical and Translational Research Initiative in the future. Enhancing Translational Research “This Roadmap T32 is an important component of our efforts to foster interdisciplinary training and collaboration on our campus, and throughout the state,” said John Raymond, M.D., vice president for Academic Affairs and Provost and associate Provost for Research. “Its significance is highlighted by the inclusion of some our most outstanding mentors who come from diverse disciplines.”   “This effort continues to be an example of true teamwork and collaboration among campus faculty, researchers and staff experts,” Halushka said. “It could not have been written by a single individual, but was successful with the help of many contributors. Successful delivery of the program will be the culmination of multiple component parts focused on a single goal.”      To apply or obtain additional information about the program, visit http://www.musc.edu/sptcr/.    2005 NIH Roadmap Institutions Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, Medical University of South Carolina, Ohio State University, University of California San Diego, University of California, San Francisco, University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, University of Washington, Washington University, Yale University Friday, Feb. 10, 2006 Catalyst Online is published weekly, updated as needed and improved from time to time by the MUSC Office of Public Relations for the faculty, employees and students of the Medical University of South Carolina. Catalyst Online editor, Kim Draughn, can be reached at 792-4107 or by email, catalyst@musc.edu. Editorial copy can be submitted to Catalyst Online and to The Catalyst in print by fax, 792-6723, or by email to catalyst@musc.edu. 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