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Training Plan for all pre- and post-doctoral trainees (PhD, MD, and MD/PhD).

Each trainee will complete the core Sleep and Circadian Rhythms Curriculum listed in the Table immediately below during the two years of support. Note: courses that meet the NIH Responsible Conduct for Research are available at CU-Boulder and CU-Anschutz and trainees can choose to take the course at either campus.

Pre-Doctoral Trainees

At least one member of the T32 mentoring team, other than the primary mentor (i.e., associate mentor), needs to be part of the Trainees official dissertation committee.  This should be acknowledged in the mentor's letter of support.  

Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Core Curriculum/Courses Required for all Pre- and Post-doctoral Trainees

Additional Required Training Activities for all Pre-(PhD) and Post-doctoral (PhD, MD, MD/PhD) Trainees

• Mentored research activities
  • Immediate involvement in ongoing studies: direct/hands-on exposure to data collection, database management and statistical analysis, graphing, and preparation of oral/poster presentations and manuscripts for publication.
  • Development of specific projects for the T32 trainee.
  • Mentored grant writing (individual NSRA, fellowships, participation in NIH R level submissions from the lab).
• Research in progress meetings with laboratory/primary mentor (weekly-required).
  • Review status of research, action item review from prior week, new action items, open agenda. These meetings will incorporate discussions of Resposnble Conduct of Research (RCR), including human subject issues, data management/safety, study deadlines/updates (e.g., IRB, grant agency, abstracts),
• Mentoring interactions: 1) ~daily interactions plus weekly formal progress meetings with mentor; 2) minimum of monthly interactions with co-mentors; 3) informal interactions throughout the year with other "supporting faculty"; 4) initial development and frequent updating of Career Development Plan (CDP/IDP—and then formal review progress by the executive committee quarterly (required meetings).
  • Mentoring meetings will review topics as data analysis; authorship and conflict of interest; career development. Topics will also cover, publishing original research, communication of research findings, manuscript peer review, and mentored experience in grant writing.
• Research mentoring experience (to be acquired by the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees on the proposed training grant): 1) pre-doctoral trainee mentoring of undergraduate students; 2) post-doctoral trainee mentoring of undergraduate and graduate (MS and PhD) students.
• Research laboratory journal club (weekly to bi-weekly-required)
  • Present at journal club
• Symposium series (beyond required Sleep Grand Rounds, others are chosen from the following with guidance from mentoring team)
  • Sleep Grand Rounds Harvard Medical School (Monthly fall and spring semesters via videoconference-required throughout T32 support; note that one semester is included in IPHY 6010 sleep medicine; other semesters required only for grand rounds via free video conf).
  • Integrative Physiology Colloquium (CU-Boulder, weekly fall and spring semesters)
  • Neuroscience Seminar (CU-Boulder bi-weekly fall and spring semesters)
  • Biotechnology Opportunity Seminar Series (CU-Boulder, weekly fall and spring semesters)
  • Research Seminars in Clinical Science (CU-Anschutz)
  • Geriatric Medicine Grand Rounds (CU-Anschutz, weekly fall and spring semesters)
  • Endocrine Grand Rounds (CU-Anschutz, weekly fall and spring semesters)
  • Pediatrics Grand Rounds (CU-Anschutz, weekly fall and spring semesters)
• Workshops/workgroups (beyond required Discrimination and Harassment and Research Ethics, others are chosen from the following with guidance from mentoring team)
  • Discrimination and Harassment (required)
  • Biosafety Training
  • Blood borne Pathogen (Researchers)
  • Recombinant or Synthetic Nucleic Acid (rsNA) Molecule Training
  • Basic Radiation Safety Training
  • Hazardous Waste Generation & Lab Safety, Shipping Biological Materials 
  • Biostatistics Workshop Series (CU-Anschutz, monthly)
  • Bioinformatics Supergroup (CU-Boulder Weekly)
• Colorado Sleep and Circadian Research Symposium (annually, one day—required)
• T32 Sleep and Circadian Summer School (annually, weeklong—required)
• Attendance/Presentation at Scientific Meetings:
  • Sleep and Circadian Related Research Conference
    • Associated Professional Sleep Societies and/or Society for Research on Biological Rhythms (required at least once during the two years of support)
  • Topic Specific Research Conference
    • Key conference in trainee’s field (required at least once during the two years of support)
• Submission of grants/fellowships
  • individual NSRA, other fellowship, or K award (draft by end of the first year of T32 training).
• Submission of required review materials to document progress (quarterly) and present their research at the annual T32 retreat.

Proposed Research Training Plan for MD Post-Doctoral Fellows:

Consistent with another T32 area of emphasis set forth by NHLBI, participating in the T32 core curriculum and summer school will expose qualified physician-scientists to critical thinking and translation of findings between the basic and clinical spheres. Candidates for clinical fellowships at CU-Anschutz are reviewed after submitting a formal application that includes a written personal statement and three letters of reference. Research mentors on this T32 will assist with recruitment of MD postdocs by informing their associated fellowship programs each year about the T32. While intense research experiences begin following the clinical fellowship year, preparations for research begin immediately upon entry into the fellowship. During the first summer of the clinical training year, all research interested fellows participate in a 26h summer research lecture series entitled “Clinical Research Training for New Investigators”, coordinated by the CCTSI. This includes: 1) introduction to research; 2) study design; 3) survey design; 4) data collection; 5) data analysis; 6) research writing; and 7) “Nuts and Bolts of the CCTSI”. IRB and CTRC submissions/training, and initial exposure to research techniques begin during non-inpatient months of the clinical fellowship year.

Most MD postdoctoral trainees spend three years in training (1 year clinical training, followed by 2 years research training when >80% of time is devoted to research). Because few MD trainees have had formal research training prior to their clinical fellowship, a key component of our MD research training includes the intersection of experiential guidance from their mentors and didactic instruction that is concentrated within the Education, Training and Career Development Core (ETCD) of the CCTSI. The centerpiece of this educational program is the Clinical Science Graduate Program (CLSC), which emanated directly from a longstanding P30 clinical research degree program funded by the NIH. The CLSC offers both Masters- and Ph.D.-level degrees in three areas of emphasis: 1) Clinical Investigation; 2) Health Information Technology; and 3) Health Services Research. Past and present MD trainees at CU, including those on other T32s at CU, have received training within this core. These CLSC courses are also available to pre- and post-doctoral Ph.D. candidates on the CU-Anschutz campus. The full list of course offerings and schedule for 2019 can be viewed on the CCSTI education and training webpage.

In collaboration with the Colorado School of Public Health, the CLSC prepares students to:

• Critically appraise existing literature and other sources of information
• Apply evidence-based practice principles
• Accurately select, use and interpret commonly employed statistics
• Apply and use appropriate study designs and methods to address research questions/hypotheses
• Identify and measure clinically relevant and meaningful outcomes
• Design and conduct research studies
• Adhere to legal, ethical and regulatory issues related to clinical research
• Publish research-based manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals
• Prepare and submit successful grant proposals (mentored experience in grant writing)
• Provide constructive reviews and feedback to colleagues
• Demonstrate effective communication, management and leadership skills
• Develop and participate in interdisciplinary collaborations

MD trainees are exposed to basic science research in the Sleep and Circadian Rhythm Core Curriculum noted above and may also conduct basic research as part of their research projects. Beyond the core, T32 MD trainees are required to take the following courses (or demonstrate equivalent training/expertise):

Examples of elective courses that T32 MD trainees may take are provided below. Completion of courses and other didactic training will be determined by the needs assessment as delineated in the CDP/IDP.

Additional Expectations for MD Post-Doctoral Trainees beyond Core Requirements:

Develop at least one research project with their mentoring team, including proposed timelines and benchmarks as part of a written CDP/IDP. Continuation of RCR training through weekly laboratory meetings (see above) and face-to-face case study sessions (with mentors) held quarterly in place of weekly research-in-progress meetings.