Training Program in Musculoskeletal Research - The overall mission of the Comprehensive Training Program in Musculoskeletal Research (MSK T32) at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is to prepare academically gifted individuals to become highly skilled, well rounded, empathetic, collaborative, and engaged leaders across the many rapidly changing domains of MSK health. The trans-disciplinary nature of our MSK research and training programs span from basic cellular, molecular, and genetic mechanisms of disease, development of innovative device and biological interventions, through early diagnostic techniques and quantitative outcome assessment. This is an ideal framework for developing the future thought leaders who will address the MSK related health issues that affect almost 124M Americans. Our Primary Trainers at Case Schools of Medicine, Engineering, or Arts & Sciences collaborate frequently and effectively across CWRU and our four institutional partners: University Hospitals, The Cleveland Clinic, Metrohealth Medical Center, and the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center. Additional Secondary Trainers with clinical expertise, and ongoing program like EMBARK in the Graduate Education Office (GEO) and the Clinical and Translational Science Consortium (CTSC) at CWRU, contribute significantly to our dynamic learning environment and further enhance the assessment, tracking and evaluation of our mentors and predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees. Top performing predoctoral trainees who have advanced to candidacy and been vetted for appointment to our program will join postdoctoral trainees in additional required didactic and experiential learning activities specific to the MSK T32. Courses in grant writing, orthopaedic basic science, and being professional scientists emphasizing rigor, reproducibility, and responsible conduct of research are augmented by unique trainee-centric learning activities. These include interacting with MSK researchers, following the lived experiences of patients undergoing MSK treatment, developing professional communication skills, and building relationships with successful MSK T32 alumni. Trainees are identified from an annual pool of applicants via a careful, multi-step selection process and are generally appointed for two years. An internal Steering Committee representing our core research strengths and collaborating institutions meets regularly to review trainee progress and mentor performance biannually across all ongoing programmatic components. An external Advisory Council consisting of nationally recognized experts meets biannually to formally evaluate and critique overall program effectiveness. Our potential for success is best evidenced by the career trajectories of former trainees, who have uniformly obtained faculty and leadership positions at major universities, initiated and sustained independent federally funded research programs, or pursued MSK related work in industry or government laboratories. Our MSK T32 goes beyond conventional scientific training to embrace the challenges of creating “scientist-citizens” who fully appreciate their impact on healthcare, the scientific community, and society.
