Paul
R. Knight III, MD, PhD, UB distinguished professor of anesthesiology
and microbiology and
immunology, has won an $890,000 grant from the National Institute of General
Medical Sciences to help future physician-scientists become
leaders in anesthesiology-focused translational research.
The two-year program encourages translational research through
interactions between PhDs and physician-scientists. The 17 faculty
members who staff it aim to develop strong physician-scientists in
the areas of perioperative medicine, critical care and pain
management.
Faculty mentors are active researchers with substantial records
of extramural funding and peer-reviewed publications. Trainees will
benefit from exposure to their wide range of research interests,
including molecular mechanisms of anesthetic and pain drug action,
pathogenic mechanisms of acute lung injury and clinical outcome
studies on pain and critical care medicine.
Mentors provide laboratory research training for:
- postdoctoral resident fellows
- residents in the final years of the physician scientist
development program
- junior faculty fellows
- postdoctoral PhD fellows
Bruce
A. Davidson, PhD, basic science research coordinator in
anesthesiology, serves as the program’s assistant
director.
Individuals trained dually as physicians and scientists have
advantages in promoting translational investigation, Knight says.
They help serve the research needs of anesthesiology as the
specialty moves forward and will teach the next generation of
academic anesthesiologists.
“Translational research, specifically mutually reinforcing
investigations that go from laboratory bench top to clinical trials
to clinical application—as well as from clinical problems to
the bench top—is of paramount importance to the continual
improvement of our health care system,” he says.
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