ABSTRACT For 35 years, the Integrated Training Program in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism (DEM) has supported and enhanced research training in DEM for predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees at University of California San Francisco. The predoctoral training path operates with the UCSF Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, which trains students for research careers investigating basic mechanisms of human physiology and disease, to integrate training and strengthen opportunities for graduate students interested in research careers in DEM. Postoctoral training includes two tracks. Track 1 supports research training for physician-scientists. Track 2 supports mentored postdoctoral research training in DEM. Postdoctoral trainees in either track may train in the Basic or Clinical Investigation. Both pathways provide a combination of didactic (seminars, lectures, journal clubs) and individually-mentored research training. Training for Clinical Investigators includes courses in Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Clinical Study Design. All predoctoral and postdoctoral DEM trainees participate in seminars on the Ethics and Responsible Conduct of Science. Trainees work with a large, accomplished, and interactive DEM faculty drawn from multiple academic departments and Organized Research Units/Institutes across UCSF. All of the predoctoral trainees who earned PhDs in the past 15 years have continued in scientific research positions -- in postdoctoral research fellowships, academic research faculty positions, or pharmaceutical/biotech research positions. Of the postdoctoral trainees who completed their fellowships in the same period, 45% hold academic faculty positions, and 74% remain in research. New improvements to the DEM Program include a formal Career Mentoring Program, a new summer research program for medical students, an annual retreat, increased integration with the NIH/NIDDK-supported UCSF Diabetes Research Center (DRC) and Nutrition and Obesity Center (NORC) and further expansion to the new basic and clinical science campus at UCSF Mission Bay. Together these changes enhance the already strong DEM Training Program and will expand future opportunities in DEM for both predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees at UCSF.
NIH ExPorter
NIH ExPorter