Research Training in Child Mental Health

Rhode Island Hospital, Providence RI

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

Modified Summary/Abstract Section This competitive continuation resubmission requests a five-year renewal for our institutional national research service award (T32) entitled, “Research Training in Child Mental Health.” Support is requested for six postdoctoral fellows matriculating for two years each. The overarching aim of this program is to train the next generation of researchers to design and carry out innovative research projects that will help advance knowledge in the field of child mental health. Strengths of the program include a breadth of faculty research interests and expertise, and a number of faculty members conducting T2-T3 translational research. The program embraces an apprenticeship model in which fellows work with a primary research mentor, and in many cases, a secondary research mentor. In the apprenticeship model, the mentor works closely with the trainee on existing projects, secondary data analyses, grant writing, and scientific presentations. The didactic program includes both a core and individualized curriculum including seminars on grant writing, rigor and reproducibility, responsible conduct of research, professional development, and innovative interdisciplinary approaches to research. The breadth of faculty research interests, from basic to applied, helps broaden research perspectives and educate fellows with respect to the process of collaboration and conducting research across disciplines. In this current funding cycle (2019 -present; Years 26 -30), the Child Mental Health Research T32 enrolled 19 fellows, 5 of whom are still in training. In this 6th cycle of funding (year 26 –30), of the 14 fellows who have completed training at the time of this writing, 5 have received K awards that were written while they were fellows and three received F32s (i.e., 8 of 15 received NIH funding). Eight are Assistant Professors at academic medical centers, one is an Instructor, one is a behavioral scientist at the Centers for Disease Control, one has been a fellow at NIMH intramural, and two took clinical positions. The 15 graduates from our current cycle have all been successful in publishing peer-reviewed manuscripts: 415 in total (M = 26.9), 127 as first author (M = 10.1), and 42 (M = 3.8) directly related to their fellowship research. Of the graduates in our two previous cycles, 21/38 (55%) have received NIH grants, 44 grants in total. In this competing continuation, we integrate new, accomplished early career, independent investigators into the faculty mentoring pool, continue to emphasize mentorship training for both faculty and fellows, reinforce the importance of training in rigor and reproducibility and team science, and expand our scientific training offerings, especially in implementation science (T3 – T4).