# Core D Research Experience Training Coordination (RETCC)

> **NIH NIH P42** · UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM · 2020 · $78,398

## Abstract

The goal of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)-Research Experience and Training Coordination
Core (UAB-RETCC) is to provide multi- and trans-disciplinary training in environmental health sciences in a
nurturing, stimulating and collaborative environment. The program will support 2-3 years of structured and
rigorous research training for graduate students enrolled in the UAB Graduate Biomedical Sciences (GBS;
PhD candidates) and postdoctoral fellows (MD, PhD, or combined MD, PhD). The multidisciplinary nature of
the proposed training is fostered by the diversity of 24 faculty mentors who hold primary appointments in the
Schools of Medicine, Engineering, Public Health and the College of Arts and Sciences, and are members of
UAB University-Wide Interdisciplinary Research Centers (UWIRCs). In concert with the Research Projects, the
training core will support both graduate students and postdoctoral trainees (~2:1 ratio over the duration of the
RETCC) in each year of this program. We propose an incremental increase in trainee slots: 3, 4, 5, 6, and 6 in
years 1 through 5, respectively. The faculty mentors have been grouped into four thematic areas based on
scientific expertise: (1) environmental health and lung disease; (2) environmental science and engineering; (3)
minority health and health disparities; and (4) social sciences and study design. Multi- and transdisciplinary
structure of the training will be facilitated by co-mentoring of all trainees by faculty selected from different
thematic groups. The UAB-RETCC will allow students/trainees rigorous education and training in lung cellular
and molecular biology, physiology, and disease pathogenesis with an emphasis on chronic obstructive lung
disease (COPD), asthma, and pulmonary infections. Environmental and engineering research experiences will
provide trainees with skills and expertise in toxicology, gas/metal sensing technology, mass spectrometry, and
remediation/mitigation. In addition to the research projects that will be conducted in the mentors’ laboratories,
training will encompass a highly structured didactic program that includes (1) a “survival skills” curriculum in
collaboration with the UAB Office of Postdoctoral Education and the Center for Clinical and Translational
Science, (2) a research core curriculum in collaboration with the Deep South Occupational Safety and Health
Education and Research Center, (3) training in minority health/disparities concerns in collaboration with the
Comprehensive Minority and Health Disparities Research Center and (4) study design in collaboration with
epidemiologists and environmental health scientists at the UAB School of Public Health. Strong emphasis will
be placed on the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minorities. Formal instruction will include study
design including environmental health sciences courses at the School of Public Health. By completion of the
training program, trainees will be prepared to assemble, launch and...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9840803
- **Project number:** 1P42ES027723-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM
- **Principal Investigator:** Paul Muntner
- **Activity code:** P42 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $78,398
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9840803

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9840803, Core D Research Experience Training Coordination (RETCC) (1P42ES027723-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9840803. Licensed CC0.

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