Training

STD/AIDS Research Training Fellowship Program

Pre- and Post- doctoral Fellowships

Funded by NIH T32 AI07140
Program Director: Sheila A. Lukehart, PhD.

The NIH-supported University of Washington STD & AIDS Research Training Program is entering its 31st year of funding, directed for 30 years by King K. Holmes, MD, PhD and now by Sheila Lukehart, PhD. This program’s goal is to train the next generation of leaders in STD and AIDS research. Since its inception, the program has supported 158 trainees, including 118 postdoctoral and 40 predoctoral fellows. Most of these trainees have held academic or governmental positions involving continued research in STD and AIDS: Of postdoctoral trainees who have completed training, 89% have had positions in academia, public health/government, or are scientists elsewhere in biomedical sciences; the remaining 11% are in other positions, primarily clinical practice. Of 14 predoctoral trainees who have completed training during the past 10 years, 8 (57%) have faculty positions, 4 (29%) are research scientists, and 2 (14%) are in public health positions.

Past trainees include many Division or Department Heads, Deans or Academic CEOs at US universities; several current or past heads of major national and international AIDS and STD control programs including UNAIDS (Peter Piot); the NIH STD Branch (Judy Wasserheit); the CDC Division of STD Prevention (past Directors Judy Wasserheit and Paul Wiesner, current Director John Douglas); the CDC Global AIDS Program (Eugene McCray, Caroline Ryan), the Office of the U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator (Caroline Ryan); and several directors of (or participants in) local, state or regional public health STD/AIDS programs in the US (e.g., Albuquerque, Baltimore, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, Birmingham, Los Angeles, Montgomery County, MD, San Francisco, New Orleans, Seattle, St. Louis), and senior STD/AIDS researchers in a number of other countries (Patricia Garcia, Jorge Sanchez, Elizabeth Bukusi).

This STD & AIDS Research Training Program has been described as a "national resource" for STD training, and we aim to maintain our commitment to research training on all STDs including HIV/AIDS infection.

Opportunities available for pre-and post-doctoral training

Pre-doctoral trainees must be enrolled in doctoral programs in the University of Washington Schools of Medicine, Public Health, Social Work, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing, Social Work, and Arts and Sciences and must be working with Program faculty.

Postdoctoral applicants must be training with program faculty in these schools: MDs are usually affiliated with the Infectious Diseases, Adolescent Medicine, or Obstetrics & Gynecology fellowship programs; PhDs are working with Program faculty. Prior to application, predoctoral and postdoctoral applicants must have established a formal research relationship with their training mentor and have developed a proposed plan for their research. The mentor must confirm that they will support the applicant's research for the period of their fellowship.

Eligible applicants must be a US Citizen or have permanent resident status in the US.

Research training is provided in five component tracks:

• Viral STD & HIV Research
Track Directors Denise Galloway and Lawrence Corey

• Bacterial STD Research
Track Directors Sheila Lukehart and Walter Stamm

• Epidemiology and Public Health STD & AIDS Research
Track Directors Laura Koutsky and Anna Wald

• Sociobehavioral Research on STD& AIDS
Track Directors Sevgi Aral and Martina Morris

• International STD &AIDS Research
Track Directors Connie Celum and Grace John-Stewart

Core Curriculum

In addition to individualized research experience, the training program includes a core curriculum, required of all program trainees:
• Principles of STD and AIDS Research
• UW Biomedical Research Integrity Series
• AIDS and STD Research Symposium, held each Fall and featuring ongoing research by young STD/AIDS investigators at UW
• Annual Retreat, held jointly each Spring with the Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, and featuring research-in-progress presentations by fellows and trainees.
Additional clinical training is available for MD fellows, as is graduate course work for MPH/PhD students. Each track has additional track-specific requirements.

Support

Pre and Postdoctoral positions provide full medical and dental benefits for trainees. Stipends are paid at the NIH NRSA stipend level for the fiscal during in which the trainee starts his/her appointment or is reappointed. Postdoctoral stipends are commensurate with the number of years of postdoctoral experience. Current stipend levels can be found at the following URL.

http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-057.html

Supplementation of pre and postdoctoral stipends from non-federal funds may be provided by the mentor or appointing department. These arrangements are not arranged through this fellowship program.