Grant Funds Translational Research Training in Anesthesiology
Paul R. Knight III, MD, PhD.
Published December 13, 2012 This content is archived.
Story by Alexandra Edelblute
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.
Diversely Experienced Researchers Mentor Trainees
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.
Translational Researchers Shape Health Care’s Future
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.