Scripps Translational Science Institute

In this section

Wireless Health Scholar

A core component of the West Wireless Health Institute mission is not only to advance wireless medical technologies but also to train a cadre of new physicians who will become the leading investigators testing, exploring, and validating new wireless medical technologies. The West Wireless Health Institute in collaboration with the Scripps Translational Science Institute (STSI) and the Kellogg School of Science and Technology at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) intends to be the leading institution in the training and development of physician scholars who will determine the clinical utility and clinical potential of evolving wireless medical sensing and therapy devices. Young and mid-career physicians envisioning a career as both clinicians and clinical trialists are ideal candidates for participation in the educational program of the West Wireless Health Institute.

In collaboration with the Kellogg School of Science and Technology, the West Wireless Health Institute (WWHI) and STSI are recruiting physicians to enter the Wireless Health Scholar Program. The program is a two year research centric educational endeavor which is complemented by a series of seminar based activities that are directed at preparing the young investigator for a career as a clinical trialist who will become empowered to define the clinical role of new wireless medical devices.

Eligible Candidates

Scholars are enrolled immediately after or near the completion of residency or fellowship training or shortly after embarking upon a clinical career. The program is aimed at young physicians who have discovered a passion for discovery and a desire to translate technologic innovation into meaningful clinical practice interventions.

Program Objectives

The program will provide the scholar with the knowledge and skills which will enable him/her to:

carefully refine research hypotheses
compete effectively for grant funding
persuasively articulate research findings in both written and verbal form
effectively analyze scientific data
become aware of the array of new and evolving wireless medical devices
manage a research laboratory or research group
develop a more clear understanding of a variety of basic science disciplines and/or engineering principles as they apply to clinical discovery
effectively collaborate with wireless technology engineers and other clinical investigators.

All will be accomplished via close interaction with the other 450 graduate students and 800 post-doctoral students of the Kellogg School of Science and Technology, the faculty of TSRI, STSI, Scripps Clinic, and the West Wireless Health Institute.

Program Curriculum

The curriculum of the program will involve a series of required courses/seminars and elective courses offered thru the Kellogg School of Science and Technology which is consistently rated as one of the top seven graduate schools in the biologic and chemical sciences by US News and World Report.

Required courses in Critical Thinking and Scientific Communication, Basic Biostatistics, Clinical Trial Design and Execution, Systems Engineering, and Molecular Medicine will be completed during the first or second year of the program.

Elective courses in Molecular Biology, Applied Bioinformatics, the Business of Biotechnology, Cell Biology, Structural Biology, Immunology, Current Topics in Immunology, Virology, and Neurobiology, and other engineering disciplines will be available to all scholars.

Scholar Research Activity

Seminar based study of trial design and scientific communication and fundamental basic science will represent a minority of the scholar’s activity, however. The majority of time will be spent refining research skills and conducting clinical research in the application of new wireless medical devices.

Scholars will have an opportunity to participate in a rotational laboratory curriculum during which they will learn scientific techniques as they apply to drug discovery, behavioral medicine, community-wide and multicenter trials, wireless medical/physiologic sensing device development, and much more. After an introduction to the research laboratories, the scholar will identify a field of research and a laboratory in which he/she intends to complete his/her master’s thesis.

Over the course of approximately 18 months, the scholar will conduct intensive study within one of the laboratories at Scripps Clinic, the West Wireless Health Institute or one of the many affiliated research centers of the STSI/CTSA program. During this time frame, the scholar will prepare a thesis, receive guidance and counsel from a thesis advisory committee, and publish at least one but likely several manuscripts related to his/her thesis.

Summary

The Wireless Health Scholar program offered by the Scripps Translational Science Institute in conjunction with the Kellogg School of Science and Technology will provide an energetic and scientifically minded young physician with the tools which will allow him/her to bridge the void that exists between evolving wireless computer based technologies and bedside. This practice and study program will provide its scholars with the skills and opportunities to allow them to make fundamental contributions to medical science and public health that may impact generations to come. These capabilities will be acquired in a very short two years with a competitive stipend provided and an intent that the scholar will remain clinically active in his/her field of medicine.

For more information, please contact Kelly Bakken at (858) 554-5706. Applications may be downloaded from the web site and emailed directly to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Eric Topol, M.D. - Gary & Mary West Chair of Innovative Medicine
Jamie Williamson, Ph.D. - Dean, Kellogg School of Science & Technology
Joel Diamant, M.D. - Educational Co-Director STSI

Contact Information:
Scripps Translational Science Institute
Attn: Wireless Health Scholar Program
3344 North Torrey Pines Court, Suite 300
La Jolla, CA 92037 USA
TEL: 858-554-5708
FAX: 858-546-9272
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

WWHI Scholar 2010 Application [downloadable]

WWHI Scholar Application - 2010 [PC]

WWHI Scholar Application - 2010 [Mac]