The program comprises four tracks based on strengths at the Duke School of Medicine and represent the National Institutes of Health’s central pillars of human morbidity and mortality.
The DSMM tracks are:
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Infectious Diseases
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Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Disease
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Neuroscience
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Oncology and Regenerative Medicine
The time commitment for each track is approximately 8-10 hours per month, to include:
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Approximately 4 hours of a Clinical Experience
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2-3 hours of Clinical Conferences or Journal Clubs
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1 hour with a Guest Faculty Member for a Discussion about Bench-to-Bedside Science, Career Development, and Translational Sciences
Additional periodic experiences include:
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Specialty clinical exposure 2-4 times per year, each for approximately 1-1.5 hours. These may include clinical laboratories, clinical diagnostic centers, and diagnostic laboratories. The specific experiences are customized to each track.
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Thinking Translationally presentations for 2-3 sessions per year, one each academic term. The sessions will each last approximately 1.5 hours.
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Possible travel to a national, academic medicine conference for approximately 3 days. The meetings are specific to each track.
The program provides a high-impact experience with a modest time commitment to dramatically enhance each trainee's laboratory experiences without detracting from their primary research mission. Therefore, the program does not provide additional financial support, except for support going to one of the national meetings recommended for each track.