January 2011 Newsletter

K12 Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA)

The Department of Pediatrics at the University of Rochester Medical Center was the recipient of a mentored research career development (K12) award from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).

This CHRCDA program is one of only 30 such programs in the U.S. It is focused on translational molecular pediatrics and aims to prepare junior faculty for independent investigative careers that apply basic molecular and cellular information to the understanding, treatment, and prevention of childhood disease. In this inaugural year, two faculty scholars will be enrolled in the program; by the third year of this five-year program, four faculty scholars will be enrolled. Each scholar can remain enrolled in the program for up to four years, and it is anticipated that, by four years into their appointment, they will have each obtained independent funding for their mentored research programs.

The inaugural Scholars are Kristin Scheible, M.D., from the Division of Neonatology, and Jennifer Nayak, M.D., from the Division of Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Dr. Scheible has been conducting research on the role of CD8-positive T-cells and NK-cells in the response of humans to novel influenza viruses, and the role of T-cells in prematurity-related lung disease. Dr. Nayak has been studying the immune response to influenza virus, with a focus on determining the specificity of CD4 T cells elicited during infection and immunization.