Collaborative Initiatives

Paediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP)

In March 2004, a partnership approved by the Pediatric Scientist Development Program (PSDP), Paediatric Chairs of Canada/Directeurs de Pédiatrie du Canada (PCC/DPC), the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP) and the Hospital For Sick Children Foundation (HSCF), was established to promote and facilitate Canadian paediatric residents’ access to the best clinician scientist training programs in North America. 

By joining forces, this partnership aims to:

• Provide access for Canadian paediatric residents and paediatricians-in-training to the clinician scientist training program in North America that best prepares them for their future research care. 
• Encourage development of the best educational practices via cooperative interactions between the CCHCSP and the PSDP.
• Promote the repatriation of Canadian trainees who have completed at least 2 years of research in the PSDP by encouraging entrance to the training or junior faculty component of the CCHCSP.
• Re-affirm that the PSDP will allocate these new Canadian funds to be used exclusively for current and/or future Canadian PSDP fellows in either US or Canadian training sites.

For the past 17 years, the PSDP has provided US and Canadian pediatric scientists with a maximum of 3 years of full-time research opportunities in some of the most prestigious training programs throughout North America.  The program, whose success is firmly established with 91 graduates (6 Canadian) and 34 current and incoming fellows (4 Canadian), is primarily funded by the NIH with additional support provided by the American Pediatric Society, The March of Dimes Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and the Hospital For Sick Children Foundation.  However, with NIH funding slots available only to US citizens, current and future Canadian PSDP fellows must vie for funding from these four organizations.  For this reason, the additional partnership is most welcome and future benefits will prove immeasurable. 

Prospective Canadian and US candidates to the PSDP are invited to visit the PSDP website for complete application information at: http://psdp.yale.edu or by calling the PSDP Administration at 203 737 4496 to determine initial eligibility.