Clinical and Translational Science Award

Medical College Of Wisconsin, Milwaukee WI

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Although the imperative to translate basic science discoveries into the clinical arena is widely acknowledged, the clinical research workforce is inadequate. The overall goal of the Mentored Clinical/ Translational Research Training Program is to facilitate the research career development of early-stage clinical/translational investigators. The CTSI is a partnership of several academic institutions and healthcare providers in the Milwaukee area. Together with its academic, laboratory, and patient care resources, this partnership provides an enriched, multidisciplinary environment for recruiting and training clinical investigators. The proposed program builds on our successful experience with the existing and integrated Clinical Research Scholars Program (formerly K30) and the Mentored Clinical Research Training Program. We have recruited highly qualified individuals into both of these programs, representing a spectrum of academic and clinical disciplines. Overall, participants in the programs have been successful in terms of numbers of publications, subsequent research grant funding, and career advancement. Our proposed Mentored Clinical Research Training Program is sufficiently flexible to accommodate trainees with different backgrounds, different levels of experience, and different research career trajectories. The next phase in the proposed evolution of the Program is influenced by recent IOM recommendations to focus on career development and team science. The objectives are as follows: Objective 1. Assist each trainee in creating an individualized, comprehensive, and goal focused research career development plan. Objective 2. Integrate team science into research career development. In addition to providing a mentored clinical/translational research experience, related programmatic activities include the following: a comprehensive mentoring plan; opportunities for relevant coursework that may lead to an academic degree, e.g. MS in Clinical/Translational Science; linking each trainee with a career navigator; developing career goals and core competency requirements; creating a Multidisciplinry Project Development Panel for each trainee to assist in the identification of team members; providing pilot grant support for competitive team-based research; orienting trainees to a variety of career options; identifying and creating appropriate peer support groups Several metrics will be used to evaluate trainees and the training program.