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Advanced Center for Innovation in Services and Intervention
Research
Research Fellowship in Geriatric Mental Health
Fellowship Director: Dilip V. Jeste, M.D.
The research fellowship is a National Institute of Mental
Health - sponsored NRSA Fellowship in Geriatric Mental
Health at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and
the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (VASDHS).
This is a full-time, one year UCSD appointment within the
Office of Graduate Studies that is renewable for a second
year contingent upon satisfactory performance. Interested
Fellows may spend a third year of Fellowship, if deemed
appropriate by the Program Director, the Fellowship
Committee and the NIMH. If you should chose to leave after
one year or not be eligible for the second year, please be
advised that the 12-month payback requirement will apply.
SALARY AND BENEFITS
The Fellowship includes single party health benefits with
the ability to purchase additional health insurance for
eligible family members.
Salary Scale
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-07-057.html
MENTORSHIP
A large proportion of your time will be devoted to research
(which includes relevant clinical or basic work such as SCID
interviews, therapy sessions, lab assays, etc.). The balance
of your time may be committed to teaching and
administration. The overall training program is based on a
combination of individualized mentoring, and more structured
group training, with an increasing emphasis on independence
during the latter part of Fellowship. You will be assigned
one principal mentor and up to two "secondary" mentors. This
structure provides you with an inter-disciplinary team of
mentors who can provide valuable input into your training
process. One of the "secondary" mentors may be a senior
Fellow or junior faculty member. You will also meet
individually with Dr. Jeste, Ms. Halpain and members of the
Biostatistics/ Data Management Core.
No individual trainee may receive more than 5 years of
aggregate NRSA support at the predoctoral level or 3 years
of support at the postdoctoral level, including any
combination of support from institutional training grants
and individual fellowship awards.
RESEARCH (T32) FELLOWSHIP IN
GERIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH
RESPONSIBILITIES AND REQUIREMENTS
Didactic Courses and Other Scholarly
Group Training Activities:
(Mandatory courses and activities are indicated with an asterisk (*).)
There are numerous seminars and courses available for trainees within
our program, and through the Psychiatry Dept. and campus wide. Most of
these meetings are attended by basic, clinical, and services
researchers, facilitating inter-disciplinary collaborations.
* Research Seminar Series: The weekly research seminar
(Wednesdays, 1-2 PM) allows Fellows and junior faculty members to
present reviews as well as new research protocols and pilot data to the
group for constructive criticism. Some lectures focus on research
communication skills and grantspersonship -e.g., how to give a
scientific presentation, review and write articles, write a grant, etc.
* Geriatric Psychiatry Didactic Seminar: In conjunction with the
Geriatric Psychiatry Clinical Fellowship Program, we sponsor a weekly
(Wednesday 2-3 PM) seminar with an expert guest speaker to present on
topics relevant to geriatric psychiatry practice and research. These
include some topics that are deemed “core” and thus are repeated
annually, including cultural and linguistic sensitivity/competence,
neuropsychological assessment, forensic issues, medical comorbidity,
sexual function and dysfunction, sleep disorders, and psychiatric
genetics. Each year, we also have a number of unique guest speakers
depending on the availability of visiting scholars or faculty with
expertise in topics relevant to geriatric mental health.
* Monthly Journal Clubs: With the Stein Institute of Aging, we
jointly sponsor two monthly journal clubs attended by trainees and
faculty. The first one is called Current Contents journal club (1st
Wednesday of each month, from 12-1 PM). Each attendee is assigned two or
three journals most relevant to his or her background. The Fellows
briefly discuss articles from these journals that are of interest or
relevance to the trainees and faculty. This journal club provides the
attendees a unique opportunity for transdisciplinary training, as the
aging-related topics range from genomics and other basic science
journals to clinical and academic psychology journals focused on aging,
psychiatry, neuropsychology, neurology, and medicine. In the second
Journal Club (2nd Wednesday of each month, from 12-1 PM) a single
recently published empirical article related to an aging topic is
distributed one week prior to the meeting. Then, during the one-hour
meeting, the presenter provides a detailed critique of the article
(similar to the considerations given in a written review of an article
submitted for publication). The first few sessions are presented by
senior faculty to model the expected critique and presentation form, and
later each Fellow presents at least one paper in a year.
* Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis Seminar: The
Geriatric Psychiatry ACISIR has a weekly (Thursdays, 1:30-2:30 PM)
seminar in biostatistics and experimental design for 12 weeks annually,
given by Shah Golshan, PhD This course covers basic principles in
experimental design; descriptive statistics; data screening; inferential
procedures and hypothesis testing; correlation and regression; analysis
of variance; analysis of categorical variables; and multivariate
analysis of variance. There is one seminar on SPSS-based data
management. More complex analytic methods are presented to senior
Fellows.
* Ethics Courses: Each Fellow is required to complete one course
in ethics and the responsible conduct of research.
* Laboratory and Project Management: UCSD Office of Postdoctoral
Affairs has developed a Lab Management Symposium (http://research.ucsd.edu/postdoc/index.aspx).
The topics covered include: (a) Leadership and management styles, (b)
Effective staffing (hiring and interviewing), (c) Time management, (d)
Managing communication and conflict, (e) Navigating university structure
and the Tenure process, (e) Managing start-up budgets and projects, and
(d) Mentoring, training, and Individual development plans.
Stein Institute of Aging Multidisciplinary Seminars: The Stein
Institute sponsors a Friday afternoon (12:30 to 2 PM) luncheon seminar
in which a speaker presents an overview of an aging-related topic or new
data.
Training in Cultural and Linguistic Competence: UCSD School of
Medicine runs a set of programs called PRIME (Programs in Medical
Education) and PRIME-Heq (for Health equity). Its goals include:
training culturally and linguistically competent clinicians to provide
healthcare services to underserved and at-risk populations; promoting
community-university partnerships to reduce health disparities and
increase health equity; training clinicians in the use of telemedicine
technology for extending health care services to underserved groups. Our
T32 trainees interested in community-based research participate in these
programs.
Scientific Writing for Medical Professionals Course: We offer an
annual intensive 10-week writing course for Fellows and junior faculty
to help them learn and reinforce basic principles of scientific writing
– i.e., increase participants’ skills in correct mechanics, grammar, and
usage of standard written English. It will be taught by an experienced
English teacher at UCSD. The focus is on learning and refining the
writing skills necessary to publish papers and write grants, including
elements of style and organization, revising manuscripts for clarity and
brevity, and establishing writing partnerships with fellow trainees. Up
to 10 participants meet weekly for 2 hours to refine manuscripts that
each of them is working on, with the goal of completing them by the end
of the course for submission to journals. (The choice of these
manuscripts is made in consultation with the Fellows’ mentors.)
Public Speaking and Media training: Today’s scientists must be
able to communicate with lay public and the media effectively. UCSD’s
Office for Research Affairs offers a 6-seminar workshop titled
“Performance Training for Effective Public Speaking” (including media
training) which is available to all postdoctoral Fellows at no cost.
This six-week course is limited to 6 participants, but it is frequently
repeated, so that each person can receive personal feedback through the
workshop. All postdoctoral Fellows will be encouraged to attend this
course.
Geriatric Neurology Staffing: is conducted monthly (3rd
Wednesday, 12-1 PM) by a neurologist to review clinical information and
assign a diagnosis to patients in the VA Geropsychiatry Clinic. This
meeting is attended by residents, nurses, social workers,
neuropsychologists, Fellows, and other interested trainees.
Brown Bag Seminars: These are held on an as-needed basis but
generally occur at least monthly. The purpose of the brown bag series is
to discuss new research projects or to review ongoing projects that
would later be presented in a public forum (e.g., practice talks for
professional meetings).
Neuroscience Course: A one-hour weekly neuroscience seminar is
open to Fellows in psychiatry, neurology and students in the
neurosciences doctoral program. The areas covered include neuroanatomy,
neurophysiology, behavioral neuroscience, and neuropsychopharmacology.
Annual Research Colloquium for Fellows in Psychiatry: Directors
of various research training programs in the Dept. of Psychiatry put
together a joint program where all the trainees present posters, and
selected Fellows give oral presentations of their research. All the
junior and senior faculty members are invited, and give their
constructive feedback to the presenters. This activity helps obtain
input from outside faculty, expand peer networks, and initiate new
collaborations.
Grand Rounds: Fellows and faculty are encouraged to attend the
Psychiatry Department’s Grand Rounds, held on Thursdays from 9:30 to
10:30 AM, as well as the Stein Institute of Aging Grand Rounds held
monthly on Mondays from 12 Noon to 1 PM.
No fee or tuition of any kind is charged to postdoctoral Fellows for
taking any educational courses or seminars at the VASDHS or the UCSD.
EVALUATION AND PROGRESS
You will be evaluated both informally and formally. You will meet with
your principal mentor on a regular basis. The principal mentor will
provide the trainee with ongoing feedback about his/her progress.
Secondly, formal evaluations are conducted by the principal mentor
periodically.
You will be asked to provide feedback on your own training and on the
Fellowship program in general on an ongoing basis. You are invited to
bring suggestions to Dr. Jeste, your principal mentor or Ms. Halpain at
any time. In addition, you will be asked to complete a formal written
evaluation of the Fellowship once a year. These evaluations are utilized
to make changes deemed necessary.
The training program is evaluated in a multidimensional fashion on an
ongoing basis. The trainees are evaluated both informally and formally.
Fellows meet with their principal mentor at least once a week in the
first six months of the Fellowship. The principal mentor is responsible
for providing the trainee with ongoing feedback about his/her progress.
In the last eighteen months of training, these meetings occur at least
every other week.
Formal evaluations are conducted by the principal mentor at the six,
twelve, eighteen and twenty-four month marks.
Fellows are asked to provide feedback on their own training and on the
Fellowship program in general on an ongoing basis. They are invited to
bring suggestions to their principal mentor or Dr. Jeste at any time.
Trainees are asked to complete a formal written evaluation of the
Fellowship once a year.
These evaluations are utilized to make changes deemed necessary. In
addition, formal bodies such as the Fellowship Committee of the ACISIR
investigators, the larger Research Partners Council and the ACISIR
Scientific Advisory Board assist in the evaluation of the program. The
Research Partners Council reviews the status of the Fellowship at its
monthly meetings. The review pertains to the ability of the program to
attract quality Fellows and the number and quality of products that
result from the work of the Fellows such as scholarly publications,
abstracts, presentations, grants and awards, as well as Board exams
(when appropriate). The Research Partners Council also evaluates the
career path of the Fellows completing the program in order to ascertain
whether they are able to obtain positions in academic institutions. The
Scientific Advisory Board reviews the progress of the program at its
annual meeting and offers recommendations as appropriate.
In addition, an annual retreat will be held for all trainees and their
mentors. The meeting will be held on the UCSD campus each year in
January. During the retreat, each trainee will present a 15 minute talk
on their work followed by a 15 minute discussion. Trainees at all levels
will be expected to participate. For example, first year trainees would
likely present on work they plan to pursue in the year ahead - i.e.,
study design and methodology. A second or third year trainee would
present preliminary or final results on individual research. At this
same retreat, individual trainees and their mentors will participate in
an evaluative process as well. Attendance at this retreat will be
limited to trainees and mentors to facilitate open discussion of each
individuals work as well as the individual's progress and the program's
progress.
Interested applicants should forward their:
a) Curriculum vitae
b) Three letters of recommendation
to:
Dilip V. Jeste, M.D.
VA San Diego Healthcare System
3350 La Jolla Village Drive
MC Building 13, 4th Floor
San Diego, CA 92161
Applications may be faxed (858-642-3425, Attn: Melanie Collins) or
e-mailed (mfcollins@ucsd.edu).
Should you plan to be in San Diego in the future, please let us know so
that we can meet with you and introduce you to our Program. Please feel
free to call us if you have any questions or would like to discuss the
program further (858-552-8585 extension 2911).
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