Training Grants at UMSOM
There are many active NIH-funded training programs at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, covering a broad spectrum of biomedical training. These training programs provide financial support, didactic and research training, and a variety of professional and career development opportunities to postdoctoral fellows and predoctoral students enrolled in the Graduate Program in Life Sciences, as specified for each training program.
Scroll down for a brief description of each of our training programs and which level of trainee they support. Click on the links for more information.
Training Program in Diabetes and Its Metabolic Complications
Predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows receive training in the physiology and pathophysiology related to diabetes at the molecular, cellular, and organismic levels. Faculty mentors in this program have strengths in epidemiology, genetics, clinical pharmacology, pharmacogenomics, and physiology, and are aligned with various basic science and clinical departments at the School of Medicine. Click the link above for more information or contact the Program Director: Simeon Taylor, MD, PhD (staylor2@medicine.umaryland.edu).
Fellowship Training Program in Vaccinology
Fellows with PhD, MD, or MD/PhD degrees receive multidisciplinary training in immunology, vaccine development, epidemiology, and vaccine clinical trials, in preparation for careers in vaccinology. Each fellow selects a research, clinical, or combined research/clinical track. Faculty mentors are aligned with the departments of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Epidemiology and Public Health and integrated with the UMSOM Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health.
Click the link above for more information or contact the Program Directors: Kathleen Neuzil, MD (kneuzil@som.umaryland.edu) or Marcelo Sztein, MD (msztein@som.umaryland.edu).
Institute for Clinical and Translational Research- TL1 Pre- and Postdoctoral Training Program
The University of Maryland Baltimore (UMB) Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR) TL1 Pre-doctoral Program is a collaborative effort amongst seven University of Maryland Baltimore as well as the University of Maryland College Park (UMCP). Predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents receive research education and career development training in clinical translational research.
For more information, contact the Program Directors: Luana Colloca, MD, PhD, MS (colloca@umaryland.edu) and Graziela Kalil, PharmD (GKalil@som.umaryland.edu)
Interdisciplinary Training Program in Cardiovascular Disease
Predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents receive research training in vascular biology and thrombosis, inflammation, transfusion medicine, cardiac cell biology, and genomics of cardiovascular disease, with an emphasis on genomics, stem cell biology, and bioengineering. Program faculty are aligned with various basic science and clinical departments at the School of Medicine, the School of Pharmacy, and the Department of Bioengineering at UMCP and are integrated with the Center of Vascular and Inflammatory Disease at the School of Medicine.
For more information, contact the Program Directors: Dudley Strickland, PhD (DStrickland@som.umaryland.edu) and Rosemary Kozar, MD, PhD (RKozar@som.umaryland.edu).
Interdisciplinary Training Program in Muscle Biology
Predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows receive training in the structure, function, development, and plasticity of skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. Faculty mentors are aligned with various clinical and basic science departments at the School of Medicine. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Director Aikaterini Kontrogianni-Konstantopoulos, PhD (akontrogianni@som.umaryland.edu).
Medical Scientist Training Program
The UMSOM MSTP is a combined MD/PhD training program to develop physician-scientists with the skills to translate biomedical research into cutting-edge patient care. The MD is combined with a PhD program offered by the Graduate Program in Life Sciences in the areas of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Epidemiology and Human Genetics, Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular Medicine, Neuroscience, and Bioengineering. Faculty mentors are aligned with all departments of the School of Medicine, providing training opportunities in all areas of biomedical research. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Directors: Mary-Claire Roghmann, MD (mroghmann@som.umaryland.edu) or Achsah Keegan, PhD (akeegan@som.umaryland.edu).
Multidisciplinary Training Program in Schizophrenia Research
Fellows with MD, PhD, PharmD, and related degrees receive training in basic science and translational and clinical research focused on schizophrenia and psychosis-related disorders. Faculty mentors are aligned with the department of Psychiatry and located at the UMSOM Maryland Psychiatric Research Center. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Director: Greg Elmer, PhD (gelmer@som.umaryland.edu).
Training Program in Gastroenterology & Hepatology Research
Predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and residents receive training to prepare for research-oriented careers in digestive disease. Faculty mentors are aligned with various clinical and basic science departments and have expertise in GI mucosal biology and signaling, gut microbiome, immunology and genetics, and hepatobiliary disorders. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Director: Jean-Pierre Raufman, MD (jraufman@som.umaryland.edu).
Training Program in the Epidemiology of Aging
Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows receive multidisciplinary research training in the prevention of late-life disability and functional decline. Faculty mentors include clinicians, epidemiologists, biostatisticians, and social scientists with expertise in genetics, musculoskeletal function, neuroepidemiology, and pharmacoepidemiology. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Directors: Ann Gruber- Baldini, PhD (abaldin@som.umaryland.edu) or Denise Orwig, PhD (dorwig@som.umaryland.edu).
Training Program in Signaling Pathways in Innate Immunity
Predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows receive research training covering basic science and translational aspects of innate immune system function. Training program faculty are aligned with the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, various clinical departments at the School of Medicine, and the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Director Stefanie Vogel, PhD (svogel@som.umaryland.edu).
Systems-Level Research in Microbial Pathogenesis
Predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows receive interdisciplinary research training in aspects of microbiology, infectious disease, vaccinology, and genomics that relate to the systems-level pathogenesis of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites. Particular emphasis is given to high-throughput genomics and data analysis. Faculty mentors are aligned with the departments of Medicine, Microbiology and Immunology, and Epidemiology, and the Schools of Dentistry and Pharmacy and are integrated with the Institute for Genome Sciences and the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health at the School of Medicine. For more information, contact the program directors: Julie Dunning-Hotopp, PhD (jdhotopp@som.umaryland.edu), Nicholas Carbonetti, PhD, (ncarbonetti@som.umaryland.edu) and David Rasko, PhD (drasko@som.umaryland.edu).
Training Program in Cancer Biology
Predoctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, residents, and clinical fellows receive multidisciplinary training in translational cancer research, including areas of cancer biology, prevention, and diagnosis and treatment. Faculty mentors are from clinical and basic science departments and are integrated with the University of Maryland Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Click the link above for more information or contact Program Directors Toni Antalis, PhD (tantalis@som.umaryland.edu) or Curt Civin, MD (ccivin@som.umaryland.edu).
Training Program in Integrative Membrane Biology
Predoctoral students are trained in the biophysics, biochemistry, structure, physiology and cellular and molecular biology of biological membranes and are able to integrate this training into a broader area of research interest. Training program faculty are aligned with several departments and have a variety of expertise, including cellular biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, cancer biology, cardiology, and neuroscience. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Directors: Matthew Trudeau (mtrudeau@som.umaryland.edu) or Megan Rizzo (mrizzo@som.umaryland.edu).
Multidisciplinary Training Program in Neuroscience
Predoctoral students receive foundational training in the fundamentals of cellular and systems neurosciences and are able to choose from a broad spectrum of neuroscience areas in which to focus their research training, including synaptic physiology, neurodevelopment, addiction, neurodegeneration, pain sciences, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative disorders. Faculty mentors are aligned with clinical and basic science departments within the School of Medicine, and the Schools of Dentistry and Nursing. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Director Jessica Mong (jmong@som.umaryland.edu).
UMB IMSD Training Program
The NIH-funded Initiative for Maximizing Student Development at UMB supports predoctoral students from historically underrepresented groups as they pursue a degree in the biomedical sciences. Students accepted into either the Graduate Program in Life Sciences at the School of Medicine, or the Pharmaceutical Sciences Program at the School of Pharmacy receive financial support and participate in a range of personal and career development workshops, research experiences, and retreats to support their pursuit of a graduate degree. Click the link above for more information or contact Program Directors Tonya Webb, PhD (twebb@som.umaryland.edu), Amanda Oglesby, PhD (aoglesby@rx.umaryland.edu), or Angela Wilks, PhD (wilks@rx.umaryland.