Department of Pediatrics (T32)
We in the field of pediatrics are, in some sense, victims of our own success. Children with congenital and/or chronic disease who used to succumb to their disease during childhood are now living productive lives well into adulthood. Conversely, it has become increasingly apparent that the seeds of chronic disease of adulthood are sown during childhood. This year, URMC Pediatrics has initiated an interdisciplinary research fellowship training program that will give clinical fellows the tools and mentored research experience they need to begin to investigate pediatric origins of chronic adulthood disease. These fellows will come from 12 divisions; their mentors will come from 11 departments and centers within URMC. Alongside our clinical Med-Peds residency program and our community-linked Project Search program to train young adults with disabilities of childhood origin for the workplace, this research training program is an NIH-funded response to the clinical and psychosocial needs of the adults of the future.