# Surgery Research Training Program

> **NIH NIH T32** · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · 2020 · $350,394

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
The focus of this proposed new post-doctoral training program is to educate clinician-scientists, primarily
surgeons and surgical trainees, in the techniques and methods that comprise the fields of translational
research and systems biology. Each trainee will be linked with a research mentor and a career mentor who
will provide guidance and feedback on a regular basis to the trainee. The research “raw material” will be
human samples and data that are obtained as part of the rich ongoing clinical and translational research
programs at Harborview Medical Center and the University of Washington.
 Our previous training program emphasized “Key Initiatives” from the “NIH Roadmap” with a focus on
bench research. We recognize that bench research is less appealing to potential trainees who are interested in
pursuing an academic career as clinician-scientists and have more options for training than in the past. We
must be attentive to this reality. Redirecting our program is necessary to encourage promising and interested
surgeons to study the biology of trauma and critical illness. Over the past 10 years our research and research
training programs have de facto become more focused on translational research and systems biology and less
reliant on bench research. We have also provided our trainees with more structured education (most of our
recent trainees have obtained a Master's degree through the school of public health and all have enrolled in
graduate level courses in molecular biology, statistics and epidemiology.
 With this application and over the next 5 years, we will provide one trainee per year a core curriculum of
advanced training in translational research methods and enrollment in the University of Washington's School of
Public Health's master's program. We will: (1) Educate our fellows in advanced research methods, by pairing
them with active research mentors, programs and resources of their choice. (2) Enhance their experience and
likelihood of career success with access to research and career mentors. (3) Offer additional educational
opportunities in collaboration with the Institute of Translational Health Sciences. (4) Strive to establish a truly
diverse research training enterprise that will reduce disparity in biomedical research and bring the benefits of
diversity to our field.
 In summary the three legs of our research training program are: (1) Our individual research programs
and our cumulative experience provide the raw material and direct experience (2) Expanded opportunities for
advanced course work in order to obtain a Master's degree (3) An institutional environment that supports
biomedical research education with robust training in the responsible conduct of research and an environment
encouraging collaboration.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9978074
- **Project number:** 5T32GM121290-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON
- **Principal Investigator:** GRANT E O'KEEFE
- **Activity code:** T32 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $350,394
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-07-01 → 2022-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9978074

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9978074, Surgery Research Training Program (5T32GM121290-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9978074. Licensed CC0.

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