UIC Diabetes Research Training Program (UIC DRTP)
Program Overview
Diabetes mellitus is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and training the next generation of researchers is essential for developing new strategies to prevent and improve the treatment of diabetes. The goal of this program is to promote the scientific and professional development of trainees aspiring to a career in diabetes research and medicine. Individualized training and career development plans are created with input from multidisciplinary mentoring teams. In addition to conducting mentored research, fellows participate in research seminars, journal clubs and work-in-progress meetings, and, when appropriate, complete graduate level courses pertinent to their research and career goals, including degree conferring programs (e.g., MS in Clinical and Translational Science, Health Informatics, etc.). Fellows can focus their research and skill developments in basic/mechanistic, translational, clinical, behavioral and/or community-based research.
Objective Heading link
This program provides closely mentored training in diabetes research in a multidisciplinary environment that values diversity. The largest university in the Chicago area, UIC provides outstanding resources for training in basic, clinical, translational, and behavioral and community-based research targeting diabetes.
The UICDRTP has been awarded a National Institutes of Health T32 Training Grant that provides support for up to 3 years of post-doctoral training for post-doctoral fellows (M.D., Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., or equivalent), including support for stipends, educational and training experiences. Opportunities also are available to interested individuals at other levels of experience, including undergraduate, graduate, and medical students.
Diversity Heading link
-
Eligibility & Application
The UIC DRTP has been awarded a National Institutes of Health T32 Training Grant that provides support for up to 3 years of post-doctoral training for post-doctoral fellows (M.D., Ph.D., M.D./Ph.D., or equivalent). The UIC DRTP will prioritize candidates who are eligible for NIH T32 support (see below), and we encourage applications from underrepresented minorities including women in science.
NIH requirement for T32 support:
- US citizen or permanent resident
- Completed PhD, MD or comparable degree prior to starting program
- No more than 5 years post-completion of PhD, or clinical training (MDs)
- No more than 2 years in NIH supported postdoctoral training programs
UICDRTP Application Instructions:
- Complete application online.
- Upload CV/resume with application.
- Identify 3 references in your application.
- Optional: upload one representative publication with application.
UICDRTP Online Application link: https://go.uic.edu/UICDRTPApplication
If you have specific questions about the process, please contact Pingwen Xu, PhD, Assistant Program Director (pingwenx@uic.edu) who will answer your questions or forward your inquiry to the appropriate person.
- The University of Illinois may conduct background checks on all job candidates upon acceptance of a contingent offer. Background checks will be performed in compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Candidates from underrepresented minorities or with disabilities are highly encouraged to apply. Trainees must be citizens, non-citizen nationals, or permanent residents of the US. The University of Illinois Chicago is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer.
-
Diversity
The goal of this T32 program is to foster the development of the next generation of MD and PhD scientists engaged in diabetes research, guided by an institutional commitment to promoting diversity and excellence in research. Situated in and committed to serving a community that is known for its diversity, UIC is a major gateway for education and training for underrepresented minorities in Chicago, and it is designated a Minority Serving Institution (MSI), Hispanic Serving Institution (HIS) and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) by the US Department of Education. U.S. News & World Report ranked UIC in the top 12 of 262 Carnegie classified institutions for campus ethnic diversity in 2014.
Diversity Resources
-
Research Resources
A wide variety of resources are available to support training in diabetes research at UIC. Nearly 100 faculty members at UIC, including clinicians and scientists, are focused on diabetes and related research areas, and our mentoring faculty has over 24 million dollars of federally funded grants available to our trainees working toward understanding and tackling this disease. Diabetes research at UIC spans multiple departments and colleges, and ranges from basic discovery, drug development, translational and clinical research (including Precision Medicine), to behavioral, environmental and community-based studies targeting diabetes and obesity in underserved minorities. The mentoring faculty for this training program utilize a variety of research strategies and cutting-edge technologies, including epigenetics, genomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics, computer modeling and nanotechnology that our trainees can employ. This program capitalizes on this diverse range of opportunities and expertise to provide outstanding post-doctoral training opportunities for MD and PhD trainees in a multidisciplinary environment that promotes diversity.
In addition to resources provided within the laboratories of individual investigators in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism and in other basic and clinical science departments, colleges and centers affiliated with this program, trainees also have access to the Cell Biology, Genomics, Genetics and Physiology Cores available through the recently renewed NIDDK P30 Chicago Diabetes Research and Training Center that we are a part of (see letter from Dr. Bell), including the Cell Biology and Metabolism Core at UIC. Also, the UIC Research Resource Center (RRC) provides a wide range of core facilities with access to cutting edge technologies that are available to our trainees for research and training, includes mass spectrometry (including metabolomics and proteomics), structural biology, genomics, gene sequencing, gene editing, flow cytometry, high throughput screening, animal imaging, biophysics, tissue and cellular imaging, nanotechnology, research bioinformatics and scientific computing facilities.
UIC also has outstanding resources available to fellows pursuing training in clinical, translational and community-based research. The Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) serves as the intellectual and geographic home for clinical and translational research at UIC and provides important training and research opportunities for our trainees. The CCTS provides research support through Core Units, including the Design and Analysis, Clinical Interface, Biomedical Informatics, Regulatory Support and Advocacy, Community Engagement and Research, and Translational Technology and Resources cores. Trainees that are planning clinical or translational research can complete a 3 day “Clinical Research Boot Camp”, which addresses a range of topics that are essential to conducting responsible clinical research. Similarly, trainees engaging in community-based research can enroll in a 3 day “Community-Based Research Boot Camp”. The CCTS also is home to the MS in Clinical and Translational Science program, a two year degree-conferring program that also is available to our trainees, and it administers a Kl2 grant program to help support young investigators in their transition to independence at UIC, including trainees that transition into junior faculty positions at the end of their T32 program.
The Institute for Health Research Policy, the Institute for Minority Health Research and the School of Public Health provide many opportunities for training in community based research, health disparities and health care behavior and delivery research related to diabetes and obesity. The SPH is home to the ChicAgo Center for Health and Environment (CACHET), a recently funded NIH P30 center that is provides opportunities for research and training related to the impact of environmental factors and endocrine disruptors on metabolic health. The Institute of Health Research Policy provides significant additional strength and depth in research and resources related to health behavior, and community-based, and health policy research, and several members of our faculty are based at or affiliated with the IHRP.
Links to Affiliated Departments and Programs | Research Resources