T32 Program Coursework

The T32 Program includes formal training in Clinical Research, Biostatistical Methods, and Grant Writing, which is a critical part for the foundation of a successful research career. The training will include the following topics:

  • How to create a sound clinical research protocol.
  • Recognize and resolve ethical dilemmas in clinical research.
  • Become familiar with sources of funding for clinical research.
  • Describe the roles of descriptive versus inferential statistics.
  • Identify characteristics of the problem to help choose the appropriate analytic technique.
  • Describe techniques appropriate for handling a single outcome variable and multiple predictors.
  • Outline data limitations and their consequences.
  • Identify the elements of a good grant proposal.
  • Create a grant proposal outline and write and edit a first draft.
  • Produce a realistic budget and support it with a strong budget justification.
  • Follow agency instructions.
  • Write a grant proposal for an intended audience that demonstrates the mechanics and psychology of good expository writing.
  • Describe the review process and the psychology of reviewers.

TICR (Training in Clinical Research) Summer Clinical Research Workshop, UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

All trainees are required to take the Summer Clinical Research Workshop run by the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics located at UCSF’s China Basin Campus. The Summer Clinical Research Workshop includes three courses that are the starting point for all clinical research training at UCSF. The Workshop introduces the language of clinical research and provides detailed instruction in the most integral component of a clinical investigation; a written protocol that is scientifically sound, ethically appropriate, and competitive for funding. The course aims to train clinical scientists in the skills needed to:

The Workshop provides an introduction to the world of clinical research that is structured around individualized written products that trainees will find useful; a 5-page protocol for an actual study, a resolution of ethical issues in that study, and a career plan. For individuals who will participate in clinical research in a supportive capacity, the Workshop alone is sufficient training. For others desiring to be independent investigators, the Workshop serves as introductory material for the more advanced ATCR Certificate and Master's Degree in Clinical Research Program (note: UCSF faculty, fellows, students may take most TICR courses on an individual basis).

Advanced Course in Grant Writing

All trainees are required to take a course in advanced grant writing. The recommended course is the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Advanced Course in Grant Writing. The purpose of this course is to assist participants to prepare and submit a quality grant application to the NIH, NSF, or other equivalent institution by the October NIH deadline. The Advanced Course consists of 4 multi-day sessions spanning a 9-month period, held at RSNA Headquarters in Oak Brook, IL. Course sessions are generally held in September, October, April, and June. The eligibility of program trainees to undertake this course has been confirmed with the RSNA Department of Research. 

An alternative course is the Writing a Competitive Grant Proposal Workshop organized by the Radiological Society of North America. This course is run by leading researchers with extensive experience in all aspects of grant applications and funding. Participants will be provided with valuable tools necessary for actively pursuing federal funding. This intermediate grant writing program is intended for junior faculty and researchers in radiology, radiation oncology, nuclear medicine, and imaging sciences.

https://www.rsna.org/education/workshops/writing-a-competitive-grant-proposal

The T32 program also recommends the National Institute of Health (NIH) Regional Seminars on Program Funding and Grants Administration workshop sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Extramural Research. The NIH Regional Seminar involves approximately 35 NIH and HHS staff who are brought to a central location in order to educate, share, and listen to attendees over the course of two days. This seminar is an excellent opportunity for our T32 fellows to make direct contact with NIH policy officials, grants management, program and review staff, eRA Commons experts, as well as representatives from the Office for Human Research Protections (OHRP), and Office of Research Integrity (ORI). This seminar targets new and early stage investigators, researchers, graduate students, and anyone interested in the grants administration process and offers important networking opportunities for our T32 fellows.

https://grants.nih.gov/news/contact-in-person/seminars.htm

UCSF Biostatistical Methods for Clinical Research II

T32 Coursework: Biostatistical methodsThis course is a second course in statistics that supplements the preliminary course taken as part of the Summer Clinical Research Workshop. The advanced course covers multi-predictor methods, including exploratory data analysis, multiple regression (linear and logistic), survival analysis and repeated measures analysis. Emphasis is the practical and proper use of statistical methodology and its interpretation. At the end of the course, students will be able to describe the roles of descriptive versus inferential statistics, identify characteristics of the problem to help choose the appropriate analytic technique, describe techniques appropriate for handling a single outcome variable and multiple predictors, and outline data limitations and their consequences.

 

Project Specific Coursework

Samples of potential project specific courses at UCSF that could be selected by trainees, in conjunction with their research preceptors, are detailed below. These courses have been chosen to illustrate the extensive course options available at UCSF, but this listing is not intended to be necessarily a complete or comprehensive listing; the number, range, and continual evolution of courses available at UCSF precludes formulating a final or all-encompassing list. The courses are offered by the Department of Bioengineering, the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, and the Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program. The Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program is geared towards training students to become basic researchers that study biomedical problems. Course material begins at the molecular and cellular level and then moves to higher levels of organization into tissues and organs. At each stage, relevant disease states and models are discussed. Coursework will be selected by trainees, in consultation with their preceptors, as appropriate to their individual educational needs and research track. Other appropriate postdoctoral or postgraduate courses may also be selected, if they facilitate training in the clinical or research aspects of the projects chosen by trainees. Such additional coursework will be selected by consultation between the trainee, their mentor and their preceptor team and is subject to approval by the Program Director. UCSF provides a detailed catalog on available courses (https://coursecatalog.ucsf.edu/) which may be suitable for the T32 trainee’s project. 

Biomedical Imaging 

Course Number

Title

Instructor

200

Professionalism in the Academic Medical Center

Dr. Saloner

201

Principles of Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Drs. Larson

202

Physical Principles of CT, PET, and SPECT Imaging

Drs. Seo

203

Imaging Probes for Nuclear and Optical Imaging

Drs. VanBrocklin

204

Principles of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Ultrasound 

Dr. Saloner 

205

Imaging Study Design 

Dr. Hylton

209

Imaging Laboratory MR, CT, PET, & SPECT

Drs. Seo/Martin

211

MR Pulse Sequences

Dr. Krug

220

Advanced Neurological Imaging 

Dr. Lupo Palladino 

230

Cardiovascular Imaging

Dr. Saloner

240

Musculoskeletal Imaging 

Dr. Kazakia 

260

Image Processing and Analysis I

Dr. Tosun-Turgut

265

Image Processing and Analysis II

Dr. Noworolski

270

Cancer Imaging

Dr. Evans

Bioengineering

Course

Title

Instructor

221

Tissue Mechanobiology

Dr. Lotz

230C

Introduction to Molecular Imaging

Drs. VanBrocklin/ Seo

241

Metabolism and Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy  

Drs. Kurhanewicz/ Vigneron  

242

Principles of Tissue Engineering

Drs. Desai/ Lotz

245

Machine Learning Algorithms for Medical Imaging 

Drs. Nagarajan/Pedoia

247

Introduction to MRI Systems & Hardware

Dr. Zhang

Cellular and Molecular Engineering

Course

Title

Instructor

Biochem 112

Human Metabolism

Dr. Fulton

Biochem 200A

Structure of Macromolecules

Dr. Narlikar

Biochem 201A

Biological Regulatory Mechanisms

Dr. Li

Biomed Sci 230

Advanced Topics in Cancer Research

Dr. Bivona

Biomed Sci 255

Basic Genetics and Genomics

Drs. Vaisse, Sil

Biomed Sci 260

Cell Biology

Dr. Roose/Al-Sady

Biophys 204

Macromolecular Structure and Interactions

Dr. Gross/Fraser

BMI 203

Biocomputing Algorithms

Dr. Sali

BMI 206

Statistical Methods for Bioinformatics

Dr. Pollard

BMI 220

Informatics Seminar

Dr. Kortemme

BMI 223

Critical Topics in Biomedical Informatics

Dr. Shoichet

Genetics 200A

Principles of Genetics

Dr. Toczyski

Complex Neural and Biological Systems

Course

Title

Instructor

Neurosci 200

Introduction to Neuroscience. Essential Concepts & Methods  

Dr. Sohal

Neurosci 201A

Basic Concepts in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience

Dr. Bender et al

Neurosci 201B

Basic Concepts in Developmental & Systems Neuroscience

Dr. Chan

Neurosci 248

Analysis of Neural and Behavioral Data

Dr. Frank

Pharmacogenomics

Course

Title

Instructor

Pharmgenom 245A

Basic Principles of Pharmaceutical Sciences

Dr. Giacomini

Pharmgenom 245B

Systems Pharmacology 

Dr. Savic

Pharmgenom 245C

Principles of Pharmacogenomics

Dr. Ahituv

Pharmgenom 271

Advanced Pharmacokinetics in Clinical Drug Development

Dr. Benet

Courses offered by the UCSF Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Course

Title

Instructor

Epi 150.03

Designing Clinical Research for Residents and Students

Dr. Huang

Epi 201

Responsible Conduct of Research

Dr. Ho/Harris-Wai

Epi 202

Designing Clinical Research

Dr. Pletcher

Epi 203

Epidemiologic Methods

Dr. Martin  

Epi 204

Clinical Epidemiology

Dr. Kohn

Epi 205

Clinical Trials

Dr. Black

Epi 207

Epidemiologic Methods

Drs. Chan/Witte

Epi 212

Publishing Medical Research

Dr. Martin 

Epi 218

Data Management for Clinical Research

Dr. Kohn

Epi 243

Human Centered Design

Dr. Boscardin

Epi 246

Translating Evidence into Practice

Drs. Handley/Lyles

Epi 249

Translating Evidence into Policy

Drs. Hollister  

Epi 258

Grant Writing Workshop

Drs. Hahn/Woolf-King

Biostat 187

Introduction to Statistical Theory & Practice

Dr. Paul

Biostat 192

Introduction to Linear Models

Dr. Paul

Biostat 200

Biostatistical Methods in Clinical Research I

Dr. Allen

Biostat 202

Opportunities and challenges of complex biomedical data

Dr. Glidden

Biostat 208

Biostatistical Methods II

Dr. Shiboski

Biostat 209

Biostatistical Methods III

Dr. Huang

Biostat 210

Biostatistical Methods IV

Dr. Glidden

Biostat 212

Introduction to Statistical Computing in Clinical Research

Dr. Pletcher

Biostat 216

Machine Learning in R for the Biomedical Sciences

Drs. Kornak/Segal

Biostat 226

Biostatistical Methods V

Dr. Hilton

Biostat 273

Introduction to Biostatistics  

Dr. Quigley

RSNA Clinical Trials Methodology Workshop

T32 Coursework: radiation oncology

This intensive 6 day workshop will train radiology, radiation oncology, and nuclear medicine faculty, fellows, and residents past their 3rd year in the development of protocols for the clinical evaluations of imaging modalities. The participant will undergo a competitive application and selection process, advance preparation, didactic sessions, one-on-one mentoring, small discussion sessions, self study, and protocol synthesis process. Topics covered during the course will include principles of clinical study design, statistical methods for imaging studies, design and conduct of multi-institutional studies, and regulatory processes. Each workshop trainee will be expected to develop a protocol for a clinical study, ready for inclusion in a grant application for external funding.

https://www.rsna.org/education/workshops/clinical-trials-methodology-workshop

 

UCSF Clinical and Translational Sciences Training

One of the major goals of the Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is to enhance clinical and translational research training broadly at all levels at UCSF. The program coordinates numerous didactic courses that have trained more than 700 fellows and junior faculty over the past 5 years, and have recently expanded to provide offerings for health science students and residents as well. CTSI also oversees a growing set of career development and mentoring activities, and serves as a clearinghouse that provides information on training activities and resources at UCSF and beyond (Visit the CTSI website for current seminars, workshops, and events).

Potential Coursework

A 10-session Scientific Writing Course for Clinical and Translational Researchers is being offered at the Mt. Zion campus, Wednesdays from March 7- May 16, 4-5:45 pm. Only 15 participants can be accepted, and the course fills quickly. The course is intended for faculty and postdoctoral basic science or clinical fellows who wish to learn specific ways to marshal the details of a biomedical research paper or grant proposal into a clear, concise, and comprehensible story that will be understandable to an interdisciplinary readership (papers), or meet the agency's review criteria (proposals). Coursework includes didactic presentations and significant writing and revising. Homework is expected to require up to 1 1/2 hours per class meeting.   The enrollment deadline is Friday, February 24.  The fee is $400. 

For more information see https://surgerysciencepubs.ucsf.edu/scientific-writing-course.aspx.  To register, please contact the course instructor, Pamela Derish, Scientific Publications Manager in the Department of Surgery (415) 885-7686.


Matthew Barkovich, MD - T32 Fellow 2017-2018,  Current UCSF Radiology Faculty Member