# Unified Program for Therapeutics in Children (UPTiC)

> **NIH NIH T32** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2020 · $528,081

## Abstract

The development pipeline for prophylactics and therapeutics that target pediatric diseases is sparse compared
to that of adults. A gap in the understanding of pediatric physician-scientists regarding how to span this
translational divide compromises the development of promising therapies. The primary goal of this Unified
Program for Therapeutics in Children (UPTiC) is to train young pediatric physician-scientists with strong
academic potential to lead the development of novel therapeutics and prophylactics for children and be thought-
leaders in the field of pediatric drug development. The program will train subspecialty pediatric fellows in 3 tracks
that span the full pipeline of clinical development: 1) discovery-based research (preclinical/translational
pediatric drug development), 2) clinical pediatric trials, and 3) outcomes/real world evidence. The
program will cover three major training aims, including: 1) individualized didactic and degree-oriented course
work in pediatric drug development, 2) mentored training in preclinical, clinical trials, and outcomes research,
and 3) grant-writing training and mock review. The training of these pediatric research fellows will be through a
combined effort bringing together the Duke University School of Medicine, including the Department of Pediatrics
and the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including the
Department of Pediatrics, School of Pharmacy, and School of Public Health. UPTiC will be led by a team of multi-
university, multi-disciplinary, well-funded, and experienced faculty members, including 39 full-time Duke and
UNC faculty members in Pediatrics and other basic, translational, and clinical science departments. This
application requests support for six postdoctoral pediatric trainees (three new fellows per year, 2 years of support
each). Trainees will be nationally recruited through established pediatric clinical trials networks led by the Duke
Clinical Research Institute and Duke/UNC pediatric fellowship program directors and subsequently drawn from
the pool of pediatric fellows at Duke and UNC. Individuals appointed to the training program will be named Katz-
Denny Fellows. The training will center on research ongoing in the various faculty members' research groups
across the Duke Medical Center and the University of North Carolina and a joint didactic program focusing on
the therapeutic development pipeline for children. Upon completion of this training program, these pediatrician-
scientists will be capable of not only leading translational and clinical pediatric-focused therapeutic development
research, but also mentoring the next generation of pediatricians in the fundamentals of pediatric clinically-
oriented research. Fulfillment of the program's objective would directly or indirectly address two imperatives: 1)
the need for more full-time academic pediatric physician-researchers and mentors in medical schools throughout
the coun...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9969186
- **Project number:** 5T32HD094671-02
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Ian J Davis
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $528,081
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2024-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9969186

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9969186, Unified Program for Therapeutics in Children (UPTiC) (5T32HD094671-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9969186. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*