CIRM Interdisciplinary Stem Cell
Training Program at UCSD Application Process

1. Application process
2. Deadlines for 2009-2010 year
3. Program requirements
4. Term of awards and length of appointments
5. Application requirements
6. Selection process

Application Process

The Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Training Program II at UCSD, from the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), begins its first year in October 2009, after the successful first CIRM Training Grant from 2006-2009. This new grant supports 6 pre-doctoral students, 5 postdoctoral fellows, and 5 clinical fellows.  The first grant has been very successful, and we wish to continue to identify trainees with high potential and engage them in this exciting program.

At this time, nominations of new trainees are requested.  Since this is a new grant, those trainees supported on the 2008-2009 year of the CIRM Training Grant I must reapply.  Nominating faculty should make an effort to nominate top applicants from a diverse pool of potential fellows.

Nomination packets for support of predoctoral, postdoctoral, or clinical CIRM fellows should be sent by email to Larry Goldstein, CIRM UCSD Research and Training Program Director, at lgoldstein@ucsd.edu and a copy to jbraswell@ucsd.edu.  Please ensure that each packet consists of all required documentation consolidated into a SINGLE Microsoft Word file and named with the last name and first name of the trainee, e.g., GOLDSTEINLARRY. Please include the items appropriate for the type of nomination, which are described below.

Contact Program Director Larry Goldstein at (858) 534-9702 or lgoldstein@ucsd.edu if you have any questions.  You may address your administrative questions to Jennifer Braswell, (858) 534-2412 or jbraswell@ucsd.edu.

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Deadlines for the 2009-2010 year

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Program Requirements

Predoctoral applicants must to be UCSD graduate students in good standing who have been accepted into a mentoring laboratory at the time of appointment. 
Postdoctoral applicants must have been granted the PhD or other doctoral degree and have been accepted into a mentoring laboratory at the time of appointment.  They need not be UCSD postdocs at the time of application.

Clinical fellow applicants must have been granted the MD or other professional medical degree and be in residency or immediately post residency at the time of appointment. 

All fellows must be legally eligible to work at UCSD in the United States at the time of appointment.

Following their acceptance into the Training Program, fellows will participate in the specific training activities for the length of their fellowship. Ordinarily, this will take the form of participation in required courses in the first year of training with participation in optional and recommended courses, journal club, and colloquia in the remaining years.  We expect to be able to fund this program for three years, 2009-2012, but all aspects of the CIRM Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Training Program at UCSD are subject to the availability of funds from CIRM. Trainees and their mentors are asked to seek outside funding as appropriate in order to use our financial resources to bring training to as many trainees as possible.

1) Core course in Stem Cell Biology, Medicine, and Ethics: This course will be offered in winter, 2010 and covers human embryonic and other types of stem cells and their uses in basic science, translation, and clinical research and application. Units on different stem cell types, organ systems, chemical approaches, engineering approaches and computational approaches are included. Each unit presents basic, translational, and clinical elements of stem cell biology including what is known about the possible presence of stem cells in different systems, their identification, purification and properties, possible or actual uses of stem cells in animal models of relevant diseases, and possible or actual uses in clinical trials for organ systems and disease states.

2) The research ethics component is directed by Dr. Mary Devereaux to address ethical, legal, economic, and social issues related to stem cell research and its clinical applications. This component runs in parallel with the stem cell core biology and medicine course so that some of the ethical issues raised in the stem cell core course can be treated directly as "case studies" in the ethics course. Course sessions consist of lectures, case analyses, and small-group sessions. Topics to be covered will include: Ethical and public policy issues in stem cell research; obligations of investigators and institutions; oversight committees and review processes; procurement of embryos and germ cells; derivation, banking, and distribution of human embryonic stem cell lines; research use of human embryonic stem cell lines; managing conflict of interest; collaboration and data sharing; clinical trials; access to therapies; and responsible conduct of research.

3) Stem cell laboratory methods course: The UCSD Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility offers multiple training modules that introduce trainees to basic and advanced methodologies for research with hESCs. The training modules include culture, differentiation, gene transduction and phenotyping of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The goal is to provide initial training so that all trainees can launch independent research projects that utilize hESCs.   All new trainees are required to complete the basic methods course unless they have extensive laboratory experience with hESCs.  More experienced trainees are expected to take more advanced or specialized training modules.  Training sessions are offered on a regular basis. Contact Karl Willert (kwillert@ucsd.edu) and Thomas Fellner (tfellner@ucsd.edu) for further information.

4) Stem cell journal club: This course in fall, spring, and summer has a different trainee presenting a paper each week, for discussion and critique by the trainees and faculty participants.

5) Clinical fellows monthly seminar series: a senior faculty member leads the series on the translational potential of stem cell biology; these seminars are optional for non-clinical trainees.

6) Monthly Stem Cell Colloquium: Trainees should attend and present their research when appropriate at the monthly Southern California Stem Cell Consortium organized by the Burnham Institute.

7) Attendance at annual scientific meeting: Each trainee should attend one appropriate scientific meeting per year, e.g., ISSCR, at which they present the results of their research.

8)  Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine Stem Cell Meeting: During annual meetings, the local stem cell scientific communities hold a stem cell meeting as a collaboration of UCSD, Salk, TSRI, and Burnham.

9) Annual CIRM Scholars meeting: All CIRM fellows from southern California institutions are asked to participate in the Southern California Training Programs Meeting, the CIRM Annual Grantee meeting, or CIRM’s annual meeting of trainees. Details from CIRM are forthcoming, and the grant provides travel funds to meet the costs of attendance.

10) Advisory committee and annual reviews: Predoctoral and postdoctoral Fellows must have a 5-person advisory committee and Clinical Fellows must have a 3-person advisory committee chosen in consultation with the steering committee. Each committee should include, at minimum, a basic stem cell scientist, a clinical or translational scientist applying stem cells to a clinical problem, and a physical scientist or engineer interested in developing physical methods for stem cell manipulation. As appropriate, the trainee should appoint a co-mentor from a basic or clinical science background to ensure full integration of basic science approaches to clinical application. The role of this committee will be to: 1) Guide the trainee's selection of a feasible research project, with emphasis on its potential for independent and critical research; 2) Insure that the trainee is making progress in meeting departmental requirements or advancing towards their research and career goals; 3) Insure that the trainee develops the ability to communicate ideas through journal clubs, seminars, and group research meetings. Annual reports of Advisory Committee meetings are due May 1 of the calendar year following the appointment date.

11)  Other progress reports and documentation of protocol approvals are required by CIRM throughout the year. 

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Term of awards and length of appointments

Term of awards
The expected length of the fellowship will be two years for pre-docs and post-docs, and three years for Clinical Fellows, pending successful participation in the program and continued mutual benefit.  Renewal of appointments occurs annually throughout the length of the fellowship.

Predoctoral trainee terms will run from October 1 to September 30.  This schedule is intended to coordinate with predoctoral students’ selection of a lab and training-grant faculty’s evaluation of student potential.

Postdoctoral trainee terms will also run from October 1 to September 30.  The history of the postdoc and the needs of the mentoring PI can be considered by the steering committee when determining the appointment term.

Clinical Fellows’ terms will be July 1 to June 30, to coordinate with the assignment of clinical positions, which are usually assigned to begin in July.  Clinical fellows’ appointment dates can be adjusted based on the needs of the fellow and the fellow’s mentor.

Each fellow’s appointment letter will provide details for the individual scholar appointed, and may be different from these general policies.  All practices of the CIRM UCSD Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research and Training Program II and its appointees must conform to CIRM’s Grants Administration Policy http://www.cirm.ca.gov/reg/pdf/GAP_policy_stmt.pdf, other guidelines, and current law http://www.cirm.ca.gov/cirm/Regulations.

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Application requirements

Applications are due July 1, 2009.

Predoctoral, postdoctoral, and clinical applicants should all submit a nomination packet.

A nomination packet for a PREDOCTORAL STUDENT should include:

1. A short letter of nomination from the PI that names the student and gives a short summary of his or her thesis project or scientific direction. The letter should also confirm that the PI has discussed the requirements of the program with the student and that BOTH the student and the PI are committed to participating fully in program activities.
2. A 1-2 page statement written by the student describing his or her research interests, scientific accomplishments to date, and future plans in stem cell research. This research summary must explain how the student's research is relevant to stem cell biology.
3. The student's GRE scores (raw and percentile), undergraduate and graduate GPA and institution, and a 1-2 page CV
4. Two letters of recommendation, in addition to the letter from the proposed mentor (PI)

A nomination packet for a POSTDOCTORAL FELLOW should include:

1. A short letter of nomination from the PI that names the postdoc and gives a short summary of his/her thesis project or scientific direction. The letter should also confirm that the PI has discussed the requirements of the program with the postdoc and that BOTH the postdoc and the PI are committed to participating fully in program activities.
2. A 1-2 page statement written by the postdoc describing his/her research interests, scientific accomplishments to date, and future plans in stem cell research. This research summary must explain how the postdoc's research is relevant to stem cell biology.
3. A 1-2 page CV for the postdoc
4. Two letters of recommendation, in addition to the letter from the proposed mentor

A nomination packet for a CLINICAL FELLOW should include:

1. A short letter of nomination from the PI that names the clinical and gives a short summary of his/her research project or scientific direction.   The letter should also confirm that the PI has discussed the requirements of the program with the clinical applicant and that BOTH the clinical applicant and the PI are committed to participating fully in program activities. The PI should recognize that if a CIRM fellow wishes to practice medicine during the fellowship, the fellow must have an appointment with a UCSD clinical department. The fellow should contact a department or division chair individually to establish this relationship. The CIRM Training Grant II cannot form this relation on the fellow’s behalf.
2. A 1-2 page statement written by the clinical applicant describing his/her research interests, scientific accomplishments to date, and future plans in stem cell research. This research summary must explain how the clinical fellow’s research project is relevant to the application of stem cell medicine in the clinic.  The Clinical Fellow applicant should describe whether a clinical residency is in progress or has been completed, and whether the clinical fellow intends to practice medicine during his or her CIRM fellowship.  There is no requirement to practice medicine during a CIRM UCSD fellowship.  Clinical practice may be conducted up to 25% time.
3. A 1-2 page CV for the clinical fellow applicant
4. Two letters of recommendation, in addition to the letter from the proposed mentor

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Selection process

Selections will be made by the Steering Committee. Trainees will be selected "blind" to the program or department of origin, that is, trainee selection by the Steering Committee will be competitive and based on several criteria, including:

1. The proposed trainee's previous academic and research performance.
2. The choice of research problem and its relevance to stem cell biology, with a high priority placed on human embryonic stem cells or applications of other types of stem cells to human disease.
3. The potential for interdisciplinary research that would develop or use novel methods or approaches to human stem cell biology

On behalf of the Steering Committee for the CIRM Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Training Program at UCSD, I welcome your interest and look forward to your applications.

LAWRENCE S.B. GOLDSTEIN
INVESTIGATOR, HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE
PROFESSOR, DEPARTMENT OF CELLULAR AND MOLECULAR MEDICINE
DIRECTOR, UC SAN DIEGO STEM CELL PROGRAM
414 LEICHTAG BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH BUILDING
9500 GILMAN DRIVE, UCSD SCHOOL OF MEDICINE
LA JOLLA CA 92093-0683
PH:  858 534 9702
FX:  858 534 8193
LGOLDSTEIN@UCSD.EDU
http://cmm.ucsd.edu/Lab_Pages/goldstein/index.html

date of issue: June 2, 2009

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