# Rheumatic Diseases Research Training Grant

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2024 · $375,968

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
This application requests five additional years for the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Training Grant
in Rheumatology to continue to fulfill its goal of preparing pre- and post-doctoral fellows for careers as
independent investigators in academia, conducting cutting-edge basic and/or translational rheumatology
disease-related research. We are requesting 3 postdoctoral training slots (for MD, MD/PhD, MD/MPH, and/or
PhD researchers in bench laboratory or clinical-translational investigation), and 3 slots for predoctoral students
(for dual MD/PhD and/or single PhD students, all to be trained in basic-translational research in the UCSD/La
Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology (LJI) Biomedical sciences Program in Immunology). The training
program will consist of a research experience typically of 24 months, and up to 36 months.
We re-imagined and re-energized our program by implementing a series of innovations for this renewal
application that allow us to prepare our trainees for the research workforce of tomorrow. Rather than traditional
research approaches, we will embed critical skills like team science, community engagement and
dissemination and implementation science into each trainee project. The 48-participating faculty will build
multi-disciplinary training teams that will include in this cycle a clinical or basic research mentor, one
computational mentor, together with one Rheumatology clinician and one junior mentor-in-training for all trainees.
This will emphasize collaboration, help nurture translational thinking and team science in the trainees, help
access patient cohorts and samples, and develop the mentoring skills of junior faculty. This exposure to “team
science” together with the mandatory coursework will help the trainees learn how to interact with colleagues,
and share in the contributions and credit for interesting research programs. Of important note, to address health
disparities and unmet needs, this program will focus on bi-directional communication between trainees and
the community, will include a community member on the mentor team, will embed interactions with the
community in planning studies and assessing impacts, as well as a Dissemination and Implementation plan.
To promote creation of multi-disciplinary research teams, we have added new well-funded, outstanding primary
mentors, with a strong emphasis on diversity and leaders focused on population science and community
engagement. We have also re-organized our program around 2 major themes integrated with our central focus
on translational rheumatic diseases research that represent strengths in our research community: (1)
Translational Immunology, Joint Biology, Mucosal Immunobiology and Metabiomics, and (2)
Epidemiology, Biomedical Informatics and Computational Biology. We will also emphasize recruiting and
training outstanding independent researchers who help develop evidence-based treatments in routine care and
expand colla...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10849476
- **Project number:** 2T32AR064194-11
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** GARY S FIRESTEIN
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $375,968
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2013-05-15 → 2029-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10849476

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10849476, Rheumatic Diseases Research Training Grant (2T32AR064194-11). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10849476. Licensed CC0.

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