Atlanta Pediatric Scholars Program

Research benefitting the health of children requires training a new generation of pediatrician physician-
scientists prepared for independent careers in basic biomedical research. The collaborative research
enterprise of Emory University and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta is committed to meeting this need. The
Atlanta Pediatric Scholars Program (APSP) has provided crucial support to 18 scholars to date (15 previous
and 3 current), enabling them to bridge the treacherous gap between completing fellowship and obtaining
independent funding. The APSP Scholars have been tremendously successful during and after the two grant
cycles; the scholars have acquired a total of 77 awards as PI since the beginning of the program in 2012,
including 9 NIH K grants, 16 other NIH grants, 25 University/Pilot awards, and 27 Foundation awards. For this
renewal application, we have expanded the training faculty to 41 basic science investigators, each with an
active laboratory research program, with total extramural grant support of $51.3, $39.4M of that coming from
NIH. We have also added more focused career development curriculum and bolstered the URM recruitment
and retention plan. Reflecting the program's multidisciplinary approach,11 prospective mentors are outside the
Department of Pediatrics, including the Department of Biomedical Engineering, a joint department between
Emory and the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Robust fellowship programs in the Department
of Pediatrics and continued recruitment of junior faculty provide a large pool of outstanding Scholar candidates.
The formal training curriculum is grounded in intensive laboratory research in areas of basic and translational
science relevant to child health, mentored by experienced investigators, and supplemented by didactic
coursework, career development training, and participation in scientific exchange. The academic strengths and
resources of the Emory research enterprise bolster a critical mass of investigators working in a variety of child
health-related disciplines to create an ideal environment for basic researcher career development. The
mentorship and structured supervision of the program propels APSP Scholars to organize their research
around specific goals and to work towards publication and submission of extramural award applications. The
research infrastructure to support this program is therefore in place, and robust partnerships among Emory,
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, and Georgia Tech continue to support recruitment and expansion of the
research enterprise. Training Underrepresented minority physician-scientists is a particular focus of this
program and will be facilitated by existing strengths and partnerships in Atlanta and a robust URM recruitment
and retention program. The program utilizes both formative and summative assessment, including a rigorous
system for tracking and assessing progress, which we use to enhance the program. The APSP is a vital
component of a growing academic child health enterprise and is poised to provide outstanding career
development for the next generation of leaders in child health research.

Grant Number: 5K12HD072245-13
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Shari Barkin