# Transplant Surgery Scientist Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $67,447

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Transplantation holds the promise of reversing the clinical course of millions of Americans afflicted with end-
stage organ failure, including a number of gastro-intestinal (GI) diseases. However, a number of issues limit
broader access to transplantation and various complications related to the need for lifetime
immunosuppression affect the long-term success of transplantation. Thus, the long-term objective of the
Transplant Surgery Scientist Training Program (TSSTP) is to foster and support inter-dependent transplant
research in order improve outcomes for patients in need of transplantation. We will leverage scientific
advances in the life sciences across academic disciplines, and focus these on advancing transplantation,
directly and indirectly improving the health of patients in need of GI organs, consistent with the mission of
NIDDK. We will train the next generation of postdoctoral scientists (PhDs) and clinician scientists (MDs) in
surgery and GI medicine who will advance the field of transplantation, preferably as team scientists. The
specific aims of the TSSTP are 1) to educate trainees about the nature of existing barriers both to higher
access to, and lower complications from transplantation, and 2) to arm them with a deep knowledge of state-of-
the art tools, methodologies, and scientific approaches that can potentially be used to overcome these barriers.
Significant `cross-talk' exists in clinical transplantation, thus, we will apply a training program that utilizes the
Modular Approach to Transplant Research by Inter-disciplinary eXperts (MATRIX), a model that espouses the
concept of inter-dependent team science and research between disciplines. This training model will be
deployed across 2 separate training tracks that include 1) basic and translational scientific research within the
Northwestern University Collaborative for Transplant Research in Immunobiology and Biomedical Engineering
(NUCTRIBE), and 2) health sciences and outcomes research within the Northwestern University Transplant
Outcomes Research Collaborative (NUTORC), and implement these in our second funding cycle. A total of 3
trainees will benefit for 2 years each from a customized MATRIX that will incorporate multidisciplinary co-
mentoring. Each project must have a direct link to transplantation surgery, and the anchoring discipline in each
MATRIX is a transplant clinician. The tactical objectives of this T32 are to: 1) provide stipend support for
trainees; 2) provide multi-level, inter-disciplinary mentorship bringing together transplant clinician-scientists and
non-clinician-scientists with state-of-the research methodologists; 3) protect trainees from clinical activities that
compete for their time; 4) sustain an administrative structure that enhances both the quality and diversity of the
candidate pool and trainees; 5) provide training opportunities that span the spectrum from both
basic/translational science (NUCTRIBE) to clinical/heal...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10169411
- **Project number:** 5T32DK077662-15
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard M Green
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $67,447
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-07-01 → 2023-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10169411

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10169411, Transplant Surgery Scientist Training Program (5T32DK077662-15). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10169411. Licensed CC0.

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