Joslin Receives Federal Funding To Train Researchers in Childhood Diabetes
BOSTON — February 3, 2003 — Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston is one of seven medical institutions across the country that have been awarded research training and career development grants by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The grants are designed to enlarge the pool of pediatric endocrinologists conducting diabetes research. Joslin was chosen for the grant because of its strong research program in childhood diabetes.
“With this funding, we hope to create a pipeline of new and talented investigators whose focus is pediatric diabetes research,” said Dr. Judith Fradkin, director of NIDDK’s Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases. “These awards support not only research fellowships but also a longer period of research career development until a junior researcher is ready to begin an independent career.”
Other recipients of the awards are Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX; University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, CO; Washington University in St. Louis, MO; Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, PA; Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, PA; and Yale University in New Haven, CT.
“Without this funding, there would be a critical shortage of clinical researchers with in-depth training in pediatric endocrinology to advance clinical, basic and translational research in childhood diabetes” said Lori Laffel, M.D., M.P.H., chief of the pediatric and adolescent unit at Joslin. Over the last decade, fewer doctors have chosen endocrinology as a specialty and it is expected over the next 10 years or so that many will be retiring. “This has occurred at a time of greater opportunities in basic research along with increasing challenges associated with the epidemic of childhood obesity and a rising incidence of both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in young people.”
Pediatric endocrinologists begin their careers as pediatricians. To be eligible for pediatric endocrinology training, a medical school graduate must first complete a three-year pediatric residency. A fellowship in pediatric endocrinology normally takes three years. The burden of debt and the length of training discourage many potential candidates from pursuing subspecialty and clinical research careers. The new funding provides for two to three years of fellowship training and two to three additional years of support for a junior clinical investigator in diabetes, for a total of 5 years. The funding supports up to five positions at each institution. A loan repayment program is offered to offset some of the educational debt incurred by the participants as a further incentive to applicants. More information about the program can be found at http://www.lrp.nih.gov/.
