Strategic Innovation Fund and Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program

 Written by W. Conrad Liles MD, PhD, Vice-Chair Research & Acting Department Chair

Dear Colleagues:

Since the beginning of September I have been serving  as Acting Chair of Medicine while Dr. Levinson is away on a mini-sabbatical.  She will return mid-December.

In this issue of MediNews, I would like to take the opportunity to highlight two important initiatives sponsored by the Department of Medicine that should be of interest to our faculty members and trainees: 1) the Strategic Innovation Fund for 2011-2012; and 2) the Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program.

The Department of Medicine is pleased to sponsor the Strategic Innovation Fund to support novel, Division-based, city-wide initiatives with funding up to $75,000 per project for a maximum of four projects in 2011-2012. Examples of funded projects in previous competitions include programs in antimicrobial stewardship, stroke and geriatric. Proposals should be submitted through your respective Departmental Division Director (DDD), and the deadline for submission is November 30, 2011. Allison Hardisty (a.hardisty@utoronto.ca) is the departmental administrator coordinating this initiative.  I will receive all completed applications personally at conrad.liles@uhn.ca. Applications must conform to the following format:

Applications that do not conform to this format will not eligible for funding.

The second initiative that I would like to highlight is the Department of Medicine Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program (Director – Dr. Robert Chen). The future of clinician-scientists in Departments of Medicine across North America has reached a crisis stage. The impact and magnitude of this crisis has been addressed in detail in a recent book edited by Andrew I. Schafer, MD (Chair, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell College of Medicine) entitled, “The Vanishing Physician-Scientist”.

Training to become a successful clinician-scientist requires a major commitment on the part of the individual and the training program. The Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program is committed to the highest level of research training and has become a Canadian leader in the training of future clinician-scientists. This program accepts new trainees each year who are enrolled in Royal College clinical programs in the Department of Medicine at the University of Toronto. Applicants who successfully compete for entry into the Eliot Phillipson Clinician Scientist-Training Program must have demonstrated scholarly activity, including published work, during their clinical training, and must clearly display the potential for success as future independent principal investigators. To optimize supervision and research experience, all trainees without a PhD degree enter a graduate program at the University of Toronto, supervised by a senior scientist who also serves as a role model and mentor. A minimum of 2 years to obtain a MSc degree, or 4 years to obtain a PhD degree, is required. The Eliot Phillipson Clinician- Scientist Training Program provides $75K stipend (some conditions apply) and the reimbursement of graduate school tuition. Individuals who already have a PhD degree are eligible to pursue a postdoctoral research fellowship within the context of the program.

Applicants must be postgraduate trainees at the University of Toronto in entry level programs of the Department of Medicine (Internal Medicine, Dermatology, Emergency Medicine, Neurology, Occupational Medicine, Physiatry) or in a Subspecialty Program of Internal Medicine. Canadian citizens or permanent residents who apply to a clinical training program in the Department of Medicine may apply simultaneously to the Eliot Phillipson Clinician Scientist Program; or application can be made later in the course of the clinical training program (e.g., last year of sub-specialty residency). Trainees should apply the year before expected entry into research training. Trainees in the Eliot Phillipson Clinician-Scientist Training Program will also complete the Royal College-sponsored University of Toronto Clinician-Investigator Program (CIP) as part of their research training.

The deadline for applications for entry into the program for 2012-2013 is December 1, 2011. Late applications will not be considered. Eligible candidates will be interviewed by the Eliot Phillipson Clinician Scientist Training Program Committee on Tuesday, January 17, 2012, from 9:30 am to 11:30 am. Applications should be coordinated through the respective Departmental Division Director (DDD) and submitted via jim.hartley@utoronto.ca. A complete description of the program, eligibility requirements, and application form are available at the following web-link on the Department of Medicine website:
http://www.deptmedicine.utoronto.ca/edustudies/Clinician_Scientist.htm

Best Regards,

Conrad