Ohio State receives $1.5M NIH grant for graduate research training

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The National Institutes of Health has awarded Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) a five-year $1.5 million grant to fund graduate student training in clinical and translational research.

The T32 Predoctoral Research Training Grant will fund six graduate students per year as they learn and conduct research in clinical and translational science. This mentored research training grant is part of the NIH’s Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award program and is funded through the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). The T32 is part of the renewal of the CTSI’s multimillion-dollar center grant from NIH/NCATS.

“We are excited to be awarded the T32 to help us reach the goal of increasing the number of trained biomedical researchers who can lead the design and oversight of future clinical and translational science, said Ginny Bumgardner, MD, PhD, associate dean for Physician-Scientist Education and Training, professor of surgery in The Ohio State University College of Medicine and director of the grant. “That is critical to transforming the translational process so that new treatments and cures for disease can be delivered more quickly and efficiently to all.”

This predoctoral training program will leverage the large, collaborative and multidisciplinary research environment at Ohio State to increase the reach of clinical and translational science education and training across campus and to recruit and develop a diverse cohort of learners to become the next generation of clinical and translational scientist-leaders. The grant provides full-time research training support for post-candidacy predoctoral learners pursuing mentored clinical and translational research or clinical and translational science who are enrolled in any Ohio State graduate degree program. It replaces the previous TL1 training program from the CTSI.

“I am a former recipient of the previous iteration of this T32, the TL1 training grant that provided me with a year of formal biomedical research training,” said Sakima Smith, MD, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine in the College of Medicine and assistant director of the Pre-Doctoral T32 program. “During that time, I had the benefit of 100% protected research time while working in the laboratory under the mentorship of Peter Mohler, PhD. I can truly say the support, infrastructure and mentorship provided by the T32 and CTSI completely changed the trajectory of my career. I am excited to be a co-director of this program with a focus on mentorship, and to follow the careers of our award recipients.”

These graduate students have been funded as the first cohort of the new T32:

Aliyah Bennett. College of Medicine. PhD program: Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Project Title: Salmonella Biofilm Inhibitors: Target Identification and Spectrum of Activity

Kyle Gordon. College of Medicine. PhD program: MSTP and BSGP
Project Title: Impact of Endothelial Nucleotidase on Vascular Function

Emily Schwarz. College of Medicine. PhD program: Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Project Title: Evaluating the Therapeutic Efficacy of Combination IL-12 And Trabectedin for the Treatment of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer

Jill Singer. College of Public Health. PhD program: Health Behavior and Health Promotion
Project Title: Tobacco Use Before and After Massachusetts’ Statewide Flavored Tobacco Restriction: How Equitable is This Policy?

Leah Stein. College of Medicine. PhD program: Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program
Project Title: Multi-Omic Approach to Select Cancer Patients for Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (FGFR) Targeted Therapies

The Clinical and Translational Science Award described is supported by Award Number TR004543-01 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

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Media Contact: Serena Smith, Wexner Medical Center Media Relations, serena.smith@osumc.edu