NIH Awards Department of Surgery T32 Training Grant for Transplant Surgery
The NIH has awarded the UCSF Department of Surgery a T32 training grant, “Filling a Void of Research Training for Transplant Surgeons” (FAVOR). The grant, awarded in August 2016, provides annual funding in the amount of $156,602 for in-depth training of three general surgery residents with an interest in transplant surgery during their two research years, the training to be focused on translational immunology. The program is led by Professors Peter G. Stock, M.D., Ph.D. and Minnie M. Sarwal M.D., Ph.D., the principal investigators on the grant. A diverse and distinguished faculty will provide Clinical Translational Research Training (CRT) and Scientific Translational Research Training (SRT) to the T32 research fellows. Each trainee will be assigned one mentor from each group. The inaugural FAVOR T32 research fellows are general surgery residents Evan C. Werlin, M.D. and Steven A. Wisel, M.D., B.S.
The FAVOR T32 program coordinator is Susanna Cheng, B.S.
The goals of FAVOR T32 are:
- To prepare T32 research fellows for careers as academic transplant surgeons
- To train and inspire a unique cadre of surgeon-scientists to translate astute observations at the bedside, in the operating room, and in the clinic into novel hypotheses that can be interrogated through immunology-focused translational research.
The FAVOR T32 training program leverages the world-class transplant surgery program at UCSF, a high volume tertiary referral center with excellent post-transplant outcomes. The program will focus on preparing surgical trainees for translationally-focused research careers, utilizing state-of-the art-tools for the study of allo- and heterologous immune mechanisms relevant to solid organ transplant injury and acceptance.
The Department has also launched a new website to showcase the work of the program, facilitate the application process, and offer resources for writing applications available from the Department's Scientific Publications Office led by Pamela Derish, M.A.