# UT Southwestern Advancement of Neuroscience Research Careers (UTSWANS)

> **NIH NIH UE5** · UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER · 2024 · $77,579

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
There are significant obstacles facing promising young physicians who are considering careers as clinician-
neuroscientists. Fostering the simultaneous development of research and clinical acumen during residency
training requires an intentional effort on the part of a training program and its associated faculty mentors. The
UT Southwestern Advancement of Neuroscience Research Careers (UT SWANS) program has been
developed to provide focused, dedicated, purposeful, and combined clinical and research training, mentorship,
and multidisciplinary resources to prepare clinicians-in-training for future careers as clinician-scientists. In the
initial funding cycle, UT SWANS was successful with its first trainees and now has a growing pipeline of
promising physician-neuroscientists. As detailed in our proposal, we have identified several definable
opportunities to enhance our program with this resubmission. Furthermore, with the appointment in the past 2
– 3 years of NIH-funded departmental chairs, the UT Southwestern Departments of Neurology and
Neurological Surgery have enhanced recruiting, mentoring, and academic training opportunities to take
advantage of the unique academic and research-training resources available at UT Southwestern. By
simultaneously offering outstanding clinical training at state-of-the-art facilities, a slate of 29 diverse, talented
and invested research and career mentors, and a collaborative neuroscience community, UT SWANS is
positioned to train clinician-neuroscientists who not only are capable of conducting outstanding clinically-
relevant research, but also achieving balance between academic and clinical demands. Our goal is to provide
a program that will catalyze the careers of clinician-neuroscientists who will be future leaders. Trainees will be
prepared to identify high impact research questions, conduct rigorous research, and achieve independent
funding. To achieve this overall goal, UT SWANS proposes to accomplish the following specific aims: (1)
Recruit clinician-neuroscientist trainees of outstanding potential in neurology and neurosurgery. (2) Foster a
culture of inquiry. (3) Cultivate and deliver outstanding research and career mentorship. (4) Provide
comprehensive training in neuroscience research methodology, research rigor, and responsible conduct of
research. (5) Ensure trainees conduct high-quality research. (6) Promote communication skills, including grant
writing and speaking. Likelihood of success is enhanced by our mPI structure, which provides complementary
and new scientific leadership from Drs. Louis (an accomplished neurologist-scientist and mentor) and
Pouratian (an accomplished neurosurgeon-scientist and mentor). The program draws on a diverse faculty
across multiple departments to provide broad opportunities to pursue research careers across numerous
disciplines. Finally, UT Southwestern is well positioned as an institution to accelerate training opportunities for
clinician...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10768454
- **Project number:** 2UE5NS098987-08
- **Recipient organization:** UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** ELAN D LOUIS
- **Activity code:** UE5 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $77,579
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10768454

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10768454, UT Southwestern Advancement of Neuroscience Research Careers (UTSWANS) (2UE5NS098987-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10768454. Licensed CC0.

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