DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): UC Davis has a strong multidisciplinary and collaborative environment in research and training related to this Pharmacology Training Program (PTP). The 59 Training Faculty are from 22 departments in 6 colleges, where extensive collaborative interaction already exist (e.g. many are members of the Pharmacology- Toxicology (PTX) Graduate Group, now in its 37th year). The PhTP includes faculty trainers that smoothly span colleges, academic departments and centers. The PTP objective is to provide predoctoral trainees with the core educational and research training required for translating pre-clinical mechanistic therapeutic discoveries into clinical trials. All of the educational component necessary for this translation PTP are provided by collaborative teaching and training. The training faculty are well-funded with ongoing disease- oriented and therapeutic discovery projects at UC Davis and some have pharmaceutical industry partners. Their foci range from identifying novel therapeutic molecular targets, making or identifying therapeutic molecules, novel developing cell targeting strategies, immune-mediated, and stem cell pre-clinical therapeutics, to clinical trials being conducted at the UC Davis NIH-funded Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC), NIH-designated Cancer Center, and within the UCD Health System. The very rich and collaborative overall science environment at UC Davis, powerful and numerous state-of-the-art core facilities and centers will provide trainees with outstanding research opportunities (e.g. spanning from Chemistry's emphasis on pharmaceutical chemistry, imaging molecules (from single molecule to in vivo), genomics, molecular/system modeling, stem cell center, unique animal models (nationally recognized mouse center, Veterinary School and Primate Center) and CTSC. The disease targets of the training faculty cover a broad spectrum, but include strength in cardiovascular, neurosciences, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. All PhTP trainees will develop a solid foundation in both modern physiology and pharmacology, including pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacotoxicology, drug metabolism, drug discovery and translation, biostatistics and responsible conduct of research. The PhTP also provides training in skills that promote professional development. Previous trainees of the training faculty have had highly successful careers in both academia and industry. This PhTP will provide an exciting training opportunity for motivated students and fellows in translational pre-clinical therapeutics. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: This proposal for Pharmacology Training: Bench to Bedside will build on the existing strengths interdisciplinary collaborative research and training environment at UC Davis. It will train predoctoral PhD students in pharmacology and foster interdisciplinary training and research collaboration in drug discovery for graduate students in Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Physiology and Biomedical Engineering graduate programs. A combination of formal and informal research training experiences will provide trainees with an understanding of how basic and clinical science are integrated to translate therapeutic target discovery to drug development, screening, mechanistic preclinical and clinical studies.

This proposal for Pharmacology Training: Bench to Bedside will build on the existing strengths interdisciplinary collaborative research and training environment at UC Davis. It will train predoctoral PhD students in pharmacology and foster interdisciplinary training and research collaboration in drug discovery for graduate students in Pharmacology, Neuroscience, Physiology and Biomedical Engineering graduate programs. A combination of formal and informal research training experiences will provide trainees with an understanding of how basic and clinical science are integrated to translate therapeutic target discovery to drug development, screening, mechanistic preclinical and clinical studies.