This proposal requests continued Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) support for the Molecular Basis of Pediatric Disease Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh and UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh (CHP). The primary goal of the Molecular Basis of Pediatric Disease Training Program is to identify, mentor, and foster the careers of future leaders in pediatric research who are dedicated to improving child health through discovery. The program offers a two-year experience for one-to-two scholars per year focused on training in laboratory-based biomedical research relevant to child health. The training experience is designed to allow scholars to establish careers as independent, NIH-funded pediatric physician- scientists. The mentoring faculty includes 36 outstanding basic investigators who have a distinguished record of research contributions and training. The emphasis of the training experience is on the fundamentals of scientific inquiry combined with the highest standards of excellence for rigor and reproducibility. Each scholar is expected to conduct an innovative research project in the laboratory of one of the faculty mentors leading to publications and applications for individual NIH (or equivalent) grants. The program incorporates an innovative near-peer mentoring initiative, a grant-writing course, and an annual Pediatric Discovery Day. The program fosters diversity, equity, and inclusion among scholars, training faculty, and program leadership. The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh houses vibrant research programs on the CHP campus and the 300,000-square-foot CHP Rangos Research Center. We have appointed 35 scholars to the CHRCDA program at the University of Pittsburgh since its establishment in 1992; 33 have completed training. We also use departmental resources to support additional junior faculty in the Molecular Basis of Pediatric Disease Training Program, who are called CHP scholars and afforded training opportunities identical to those of the CHRCDA scholars. We have appointed 23 CHP scholars to date; 20 have completed training. The outcomes of our CHRCDA and CHP scholars are excellent. Of the 53 combined CHRCDA and CHP scholar program graduates, 35 (66.0%) have obtained K02, K08, K23, K99, P20, R01, R03, or U01 (K/P/R/U) funding. Of the 44 combined graduates who completed program support at least 5 years ago, 32 (72.7%) have obtained K/P/R/U grants, and 25 (56.8%) have secured R/U level funding. Of the 53 program graduates, 26 (49.1%) are currently in laboratory-based, investigative careers with either active NIH funding or applying for NIH awards. One of the graduates is a department chair, ten are division or center directors, and 13 are full professors. These outcomes provide confidence that the Molecular Basis of Pediatric Disease Training Program selects talented trainees, provides a powerful team of mentors, and offers an intellectually stimulating environment that will inspire junior faculty in pediatric subspecialties and provide them with the experience and training to become leaders in child health research.

The Molecular Basis of Pediatric Disease Training Program at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh supports the training of pediatric physician-scientists who plan careers dedicated to basic research. The broad public health significance of this program will be realized through the academic and scholarly accomplishments of the trainees, with connections to both the direct treatment of pediatric patients in the clinical setting and the discovery of basic disease mechanisms and new therapeutic agents.