Interdisciplinary Training Program in Metabolism (UCLA-ITPM) - UCLA Interdisciplinary Training Program in Metabolism PROJECT SUMMARY The goal of the UCLA Interdisciplinary Training Program in Metabolism (ITPM) is to train the next generation of investigators who will advance prevention, treatment, and clinical care for metabolism-related diseases. The UCLA-ITPM seeks to support and train up to 6 scientists for a 2-year appointment. Research training will be supported by a core curriculum in metabolism and disease pathobiology, grant writing, ethics, and strategies for successful transition to independence. The UCLA-ITPM is grounded in a collaborative ethos across scientific disciplines that promotes unique training and educational opportunities. Mentored research opportunities span basic and mechanistic investigation and translational studies in humans, including 4 areas of research focus: Integrative Systems Metabolism, Endocrine Action, and Diabetes Intervention; Metabolic Tissue Phenotypes and Communication Axes/Organelle Biology; Signal Transduction and Energetics; and Cellular Systems and Intermediary Metabolism. The ITPM is bolstered by a strong UCLA infrastructure with participating centers/institutes, including the NIH P30 UCSD-UCLA Diabetes Research Center, Broad Stem Cell Research Center, Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center, UCLA Comprehensive Liver Research Center, UCLA Cardiometabolic Research Center, and NIHsponsored Specialized Centers of Research Excellence (SCORE) in Metabolic Health. ITPM mentors direct highly competitive research programs securing over $50 million per year in NIH funding. UCLA boasts one of the most successful physician-scientist training pipelines centered around the Specialty Training and Advanced Research (STAR) Program. STAR offers intensive research training, often leading to a PhD degree, combined with clinical fellowship and early faculty support. The STAR program interfaces with the highly successful UCLACaltech Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP), and both programs are directed by ITPM faculty ensuring continuous mentoring through a vertical pipeline. Over the past decade, the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) has invested over $25 million in infrastructure, capital equipment, and new academic hires in metabolism-related fields. Strengths of the ITPM program include: (a) established pool of talented and highly trained MD and PhD fellows; (b) accomplished and caring mentors, including early-mid career faculty performing basic, clinical and translational research; (c) leading-edge didactic lectures, seminars and symposia related to diabetes, obesity and metabolism; (d) thoughtful training in research integrity and career development; and (e) major commitment from the DGSOM and UCLA DoM to support the ITPM mission. The creation of the ITPM leverages unique resources at UCLA to generate premier cohorts of highly trained physician-scientists driving important discoveries and leading-edge evidence-based clinical care to improve human health
