|
|
|
OB physician becomes first KL2 research scholar
|
by Cindy Abole
Public Relations
After three years of focused and guided research, maternal fetal
medicine physician Christopher J. Robinson, M.D., is poised to stand on
his own. In five months, he formally will join a corps of highly
trained clinical and translational researchers nationwide who work as
independent investigators with the goal of developing promising
new treatments.
 Dr. Chris Robinson
By August, Robinson, who is an assistant professor in the Department of
Obstetrics and Gynecology, will become the first research scholar as
part of MUSC’s first National Institutes of Health (NIH) Mentored
Research Career Development Program Award (KL2 and formerly the K12
program). Robinson’s success paves the way for other talented
doctorate-level physicians, dentists, nurses, pharmacists and allied
health professionals on campus who are interested in a clinical and
translational research career through MUSC’s South Carolina Clinical
Translational Research Institute (SCTR).
The program is part of several activities developed through MUSC’s $20
million Clinical Translational Science Award (CTSA) to enhance health
care, research and training. The component’s goal is to support the
career development of talented junior faculty by fostering clinical and
translational research through advanced training and mentoring within a
supportive and collaborative environment.
The KL2 program serves as a pipeline for junior faculty interested in
clinical and translational research and who seek to become independent
researchers, said Randal Davis, SCTR project director. “The SCTR KL2
Scholar’s Program is a self-designed training program that supports
qualified junior faculty and provides participants with valuable
training through mentoring, research experiences and guided expertise.”
The program concludes when a scholar submits a federally-supported
grant application to the NIH, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention or other appropriate body for extramural funds, said Davis.
Built into the program’s curriculum is a scholar’s opportunity to
pursue a master’s of science in clinical research (MSCR) degree. This
requires scholars to attend classroom lectures and seminars, and equips
them with the tools, study design and research support to become
principal investigators on grants.
Robinson, who is a Class of 2000 medicine alumnus, said that he has
always been attracted to research. As an Erskine College chemistry
undergraduate, he conducted analytical research and in medical school,
he studied hypertensive rats for kidney markers. He later collaborated
with Donna D. Johnson, M.D., professor and director of maternal fetal
medicine in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and following
his residency at MUSC, went on to complete a maternal fetal medicine
fellowship in 2007.
Robinson’s research, which focused on women suffering from early-onset,
severe preeclampsia (a condition affecting pregnant women marked by
high blood pressure, swelling of feet, legs and hands, and presence of
high levels of protein in urine), got him interested in pursuing
research full-time again. About that time, MUSC was competing for the
CTSA, and the K12 program was announced. With support from the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Robinson applied and was
offered the position.
An early requirement of the KL2 was to establish mentors. Robinson’s
initial mentors included—Dan Knapp, Ph.D., Distinguished University
Professor of Pharmacology and Proteomics Center director; John Baatz,
Ph.D., Department of Pathology; and Kevin Schey, Ph.D., former
professor, Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology; Donna D.
Johnson, M.D., and Roger Newman, M.D., both professors in the
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. In the first year, scholars
focus on collecting data and working in the lab.
“My biggest concern was not to disappoint,” said Robinson, who also
earned his MSCR in 2009 under the KL2 program. “I wanted to do a good
job, get recognized for my hard work and just be part of the process.
The team approach to mentoring was a good match for me.”
Robinson is currently wrapping up his third year in the KL2 program,
writing grants and pursuing funding. He just submitted his first grant
to the Doris Duke Charitable Trust in November and a second, to an
NIH-funded grant this June. He credits his success to the support of
mentors and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, which
continues to value the growth of research and career development among
its junior faculty. Throughout this experience, Robinson’s department
agreed to provide up to 80 percent protected time for him as a faculty
member.
“Achieving the master’s in science for clinical research degree
provided me with a good feel of what tools were available and what I
needed to conduct my research. It doesn’t make one totally independent,
but it gives participants some good insight into what’s needed,”
Robinson said.
Established in 2007, the KL2 program supports three components—meeting
the NIH’s K12 required training and research components, didactic
training and mentor-guided research. It provides scholars with start-up
research funds, salary support, an annual supply budget and core
faculty access to such critical areas as expertise in research design,
biostatistical analysis and grant writing. The program is under the
direction of Marc Chimowitz, M.B., ChB., associate dean for faculty
mentoring in the College of Medicine. Part of Chimowitz’s focus is to
develop and expand institutional mentoring on campus to support the KL2
and other programs for junior investigators. He is establishing a
mentor leadership council and created the Society of Clinical Research
and Translational Early Scientists (SOCRATES) program, consisting of
MSCR faculty-graduates and other campuswide investigators.
“An important component of the KL2 program is the ongoing need for good
communications between the scholars and their mentors,” said Chimowitz.
“We remind our scholars to seek advice, learn, participate in career
development, write papers, collaborate with their colleagues, but most
importantly remain focused on the science. Dr. Robinson’s talent,
passion and commitment as an investigator will help him guarantee
success.”
SCTR’s KL2 program is currently seeking scholars for 2010. Completed
applications are due by noon, April 30. Scholars will be notified by
July 1 with an appointment start date of Aug. 1. For more information,
visit the SCTR Web page at http://sctr.musc.edu/index.php/education/k12.
MUSC’s KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Program Award Scholars
Christopher Robinson, M.D., assistant professor in Maternal Fetal
Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Keith T. Borg, M.D.,
Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine;
Michael G. Hughes, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of
Surgery; and Peter Tuerk, Ph.D., assistant professor in the
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences.
MUSC’s KL2 Mentored Research Career Development Program Award current scholars are:
-
Christopher Robinson, M.D., assistant professor in Maternal Fetal
Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Robinson was
admitted to the 2009 cohort (matriculation 2007) of the MSCR program as
a result of support from the MUSC KL2 Scholar’s Program. His project
seeks to discern alterations in the plasma proteome of patients
affected by early-onset, severe preeclampsia (EOS-preeclampsia) versus
healthy, gestational age-matched controls. He will also confirm whether
the placenta serves as a source for differentially expressed proteins
in maternal plasma through evaluation of placental gene and protein
expression. His mentoring team includes experts in gel proteomics and
mass spectrometry and clinical mentors with expertise in hypertensive
OB/GYN research.
-
Keith T. Borg, M.D., Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department
of Emergency Medicine. Borg’s project investigates biomarkers of
oxidative stress in patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI). He also
proposes to validate the reliability of existing methods to measure the
severity of TBI in emergency medicine. He seeks to determine a
biomarker that guides treatment and diagnostic strategies in TBI
patients. His mentoring team includes experts in emergency medicine,
neurosciences, pharmacology and rheumatology.
-
Michael G. Hughes, M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of
Surgery. Hughes’ project focuses on increasing the understanding of the
pathogenesis of hepatitis C viral (HCV) recurrence. As part of his
project, he will determine the contributions of quasispecies selection
and receptor density in relation to HCV recurrence. He will use results
of his study to target the development of interventions that could slow
or potentially prevent HCV recurrence. He is supported by a mentoring
team that includes experts in microbiology and immunology.
- Peter Tuerk, Ph.D., is an assistant professor
in Psychiatry and
Behavioral Sciences. Turek’s project focuses on the treatment of Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) through a combination of Prolonged
Exposure therapy and yohimbine. He will also investigate the ability to
habituate to aversive non-trauma-related stimuli and this effect in
patients with PTSD. He is backed by a strong mentoring team composed of
well-established and highly qualified researchers with extensive
experience in the field of interest.
Friday, March 12, 2010
|
|
|
