Practicing clinicians who are also engaged in research and discovery are central to the development of new solutions for the millions of individuals struggling with mental health and addiction problems around the world. They are also ‘key ingredients’ in our efforts to rapidly translate scientific discoveries into better care for our patients and families, but only a small number of our medical students and psychiatry residents actively participate in research during their training. To bridge this gap, we are launching a new Clinician Scientist Training Program.

The new program is made possible by the Garvey Institute for Brain Health Solutions and support from several other supporters of the department. It will provide pilot grant funding to trainees and faculty mentors for research and early career start-up support for junior faculty members. It will also support a new Clinical Trials Consultation and Technical Assistance Program (C-TAP) to assist trainees and new investigators with study design, implementation and dissemination efforts led by Mary Hatch, PhD. We are completing an internal recruitment for an experienced Clinician Scientist supported by the Garvey Institute’s Mark N. Tabbutt Endowed Professorship for Education in Brain Health who will direct the new program and provide more information once this recruitment is complete. This program is an excellent example of how philanthropic support can help us invest in the future of our department and I encourage you to reach out to David Chow (chowd@uw.edu) or Becky Sladek (rsladek@uw.edu) if you feel this is an effort you would like to support.