Intensive Rehabilitation Research Grant Writing Workshops in the United States (TIGRR)

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.PROJECT SUMMARY. Rehabilitation research is critical to health, particularly for our aging populations and those with disability, but the field of rehabilitation research remains underdeveloped relative to other areas of biomedical research. Conducting the studies that are needed to innovate rehabilitation care for the large and growing population of older adults and persons with disability requires rehabilitation scientists with the skills needed to successfully compete for extramural funding and manage their funded proposals. In addition, advancements in rehabilitation research requires peer-reviewers who are able to provide critical review of rehabilitation research funding applications. In this renewal application, we propose continuation and further development of Intensive Rehabilitation Research Grant Writing Workshops in the United States more commonly known as TIGRR (Training in Grantsmanship in Rehabilitation Research). This year-long (12-month) research education program engages early stage investigators (ESI) in one-on-one expert mentorship in grantsmanship, grants management, career development, and development of peer-review skills for rehabilitation research. The need for this immersive research training program arises from the reality that practice in rehabilitation specialties is often based on expert opinion, prior experience, and tradition rather than on scientifically derived evidence. There is a need to develop and test interventions and devices that have a sound scientific basis – but this requires a workforce of professionals who are well-prepared to compete for extramural funding. While, for most areas of biomedical research, training begins in the post-baccalaureate and postdoctoral years, many investigators in rehabilitation research begin their careers as clinicians. These clinical experiences provide them with essential insights about potentially beneficial rehabilitation approaches, but they often lack exposure to intensive grantwriting opportunities and the preparation to be successful following a grant award. The TIGRR program is intended to address this need through a 12-month research education experience that includes a week-long workshop as its nucleus. Unlike most grantwriting courses that are completely didactic, TIGRR mentees are assigned a primary and secondary mentor who provide detailed, iterative critiquing of their proposals, and they participate in intensive one-on-one mentorship prior to and following the workshop. In the workshop, mentees meet with multiple mentors who reflect a wide range of expertise and perspectives, and are immersed in the development of their proposal. Following the workshop, they continue to meet with their primary mentor, and also apply knowledge gained through NIH-style peer-review panels wherein they have the opportunity to have their applications reviewed, develop their critical evaluation skills through peer-review, and receive mentor feedback on their reviews. Through TIGRR, we will develop a workforce of well-trained, rehabilitation researchers whose expertise will foster better rehabilitation research. Importantly, we also work to increase the representation of women, persons with disability, and underserved minorities in this workforce.