Trauma and Injury Excellence in Education on Research (TralnEER) Program

Traumatic injury is the number one health problem in Colombia a country with a population of greater than 40 million that has been called the most violent country in the world. The TralnEER project will establish an international collaboration between the University Pittsburgh and the Universidad del Valle in Cali Colombia with the goal of building the capacity of investigators to conduct human trauma and injury research relevant to the health needs of Colombia. We have established a partnership with the CISALVA institute, which is the official injury and violence control research center of the Universidad del Valle and we have designated it as the regional resource for advance in-country training and support center for the TralnEER program. The parent grant for this proposal is the NIH-funded T32 Trauma Center training grant that in combination with the NIH-funded K30 Clinical Research Training Program of the University of Pittsburgh will draw expertise to build a fully integrated program to educate a cadre of investigators in advance reserch methods in trauma. The long term vision of TralnEER is to create the infrastructure for advanced training in trauma research across all Latin American countries. The specific aims are: 1) Provide formal training to at least 8 individulas in a form of a degre in Masters of Science in Clinical Research over the course of the 5 year project. Alternative training will also be offered in a shorter term option in which the candidate will complete requirements for a Certificate in Clinical Research. 2). To further develop and strengthen the CISALVA Institute as a center of excellence in injury control research, 3) To facilitate the transition of trainees to positions of responsibility and influence in the region, and 4) To develop infrastructure to expand the opportunities to train and support injury research in other countries in Latin America. The above aims will be accomplished by means of creating the following additional training activities: 1. Advanced in country training which will be supported by startup grants to help trainees launch or continue their projects with ongoing mentorship upon return to Colombia and 2. The implementation of short term intensive training that will consist of an advanced workshops /seminar to provide in depth, targeted injury research training and an annual research symposium both will take place in Colombia. During the fifth year of TralnEER, the trainees will work on creating the regional support structure fora web based Pittsburgh International Trauma Training program (WebPITT) in order to accomplish specific aim 4.