Investigator Development Core

Florida Agricultural And Mechanical Univ, Tallahassee FL

Investigators

Linked publications & trials

Abstract

The major goal of the Investigator Development Core (IDC) is (1) to provide significant research support to early career investigators and junior faculty with innovative pilot projects and (2) to offer the recipients a mentoring program that will improve their ability to achieve their long-term success as independent Investigators who obtain extramural funding (mentored K award and R series funding). The IDC will fund Pilot Projects to support Senior Research Associates or junior faculty with grant support ranging from $30,000 to $50,000 annually for a period of two years. Grantees will have access to core facilities at no cost. The IDC will provide the awardees with resources, mentors, and other strategic components to ensure success in reaching their research career goals. The specific aims of this project are to provide (1) a structured procedure for the selection of the pilot project awardees. 2) Awardees with grant support will have a robust mentoring program for the development of successful researchers. 3) the awardee with support through access to core facilities and the career enhancement program. The IDC committee (IDC, CEC, and other Core leaders) and the Executive Committee will review THE pilot project applications. Criteria for evaluating the pilot projects include scientific novelty, technical merit, significance/relevance to biomedical and behavioral sciences, the applicant's experience and qualifications, and their record of accomplishments. Initial local evaluations of each project will be followed by NIH-style evaluations and scoring of the proposed work by three external evaluators (R01 scientists or equivalent levels) with similar research interests to the proposed project. Awardees will present their progress quarterly through oral presentations to the committee and their respective mentors, seeking feedback on the scientific ideas and directions of their projects. The progress of the pilot projects will be reviewed and evaluated quarterly by the IDC committee. The pilot project awardees will closely interact with the Research Capacity Core and Community Engagement Core and attend monthly seminars/workshops with renowned external speakers. If an investigator does not meet the requirements by the end of the first year, funding for the second year will not be awarded. The committee will actively work with each awardee and mentor to prepare competitive NIH grant applications. The awardee is expected to publish at least two research articles in high-impact journals within two years of the funding period. By the end of the award's second year, awardees must submit research grants to federal agencies, such as mentored K award and R series proposals, using the preliminary data obtained from pilot project awards. Implementation of the outlined plan is expected to yield well-trained scientists who are successful and possess the knowledge and credentials necessary to secure mainstream external funding.