Research Experience and Training Coordination Core

Oregon State University, Corvallis OR

Investigators

Linked publications, trials & patents

Abstract

The Research Experience and Training Coordination Core (RETCC) of the OSU SRP will integrate with all other components of the Center to provide trainees with intensive multidisciplinary training and professional development. Our work will support the research, research translation, and community engagement goals of the Center and will prepare the trainees to succeed in a broad range of careers in academia, industry, and government. We will achieve these objectives in three Specific Aims: 1) Recruit an outstanding talented cohort of trainees to the OSU Superfund Program, 2) Prepare a skilled workforce with the core competencies and multidisciplinary experience necessary to solve the complex issues associated with PAH mixtures, and 3) Monitor, evaluate and report on individual trainee performance and the overall success of the program. As the centerpiece of our training program, we will implement Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for pre- and postdoctoral trainees. IDPs provide the framework for an on-going evaluation that identifies professional development and experiential training needs in the context of required core competencies and personalized short- and long-term education and career goals. RETCC leaders, with the Research Project and Core leaders, will help trainees to develop their IDPs, articulate goals, identify and leverage training opportunities, and assess progress. Trainee IDPs will emphasize crosstraining in complementary disciplines across the spectrum of Superfund-related biomedical and environmental science and engineering research. RETCC leaders, with the Research Project and Core PI’s and a talented cohort of constituents and collaborators, will provide a broad selection of state-of-the-art training activities, including transdisciplinary coursework, seminars, workshops, journal clubs, experiential training, and professional development modules. The RETCC will promote interdisciplinary training and professional development by supporting new externships, expanding opportunities for KC Donnelley externships, and supporting traineeinitiated collaborative pilot projects. Individual IDPs will require trainees to engage in leadership training and leadership opportunities, to deliver presentations at local, regional and national conferences, and to participate in activities initiated by the CEC, RTC, and DMAC. RETCC leadership will coordinate training activities, track and collect trainee performance for CareerTrac (with a new on-line data entry portal (OSURE – OSU REports), and evaluate not only trainee performance but also the overall success of the program. We will coordinate trainee and Core activities and achievements with the Center and the SRP. Our training program will help the OSU SRP to achieve its goals and will help the trainees to solve real-world environmental health problems, especially those associated with Superfund sites, now and in the future.