RESEARCH CAREER DEVELOPMENT CORE

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The goal of the Research Career Development Core (RCDC) is to train junior faculty members to become future academic leaders in translational basic, clinical and health services research directed toward improving the independence of older persons. Related goals involve attracting new faculty from various disciplines into aging research and serving as a resource in aging education and research to the UCLA community. Features of the RCDC include: (1) a Career Development Award (CDA) program comprised of 5 junior faculty members and their mentorship committees in a structured interdisciplinary program that provides integrated training in translational mechanistic and outcomes research, and promotes faculty career development; (2) an organized program of instruction to enhance the research training of all junior faculty and fellows, the latter representing our future junior faculty; (3) a Research Development Mentorship Panel, comprised of senior faculty with a wide range of expertise, to provide junior faculty awardees with individualized interdisciplinary training in translational research and career development; and (4) an interdisciplinary RCDC Committee to monitor the progress of RCDC awardees and assure that the RCDC contributes to the enhancement of aging-related research and training at UCLA. Over the past 14 years, the UCLA OAIC Research Development Core (RDC) has provided CDAs to 21 UCLA junior faculty members from a variety of disciplines and has supported 44 pilot research projects relevant to OAIC goals, the vast majority of which have developed into funded major research grants. Building on this experience, during the proposed new 5-year period of support the RCDC will provide at least 11 additional junior faculty members with an intensive 3-year CDA training experience in relevant areas of basic, clinical and outcomes/health services research. Three established CDA programs will be continued from the present award period through the first 1-2 years of the new cycle to complete 3 years of training for the awardees, and two additional 3-year CDA training programs will be initiated. All programs will combine training in translational and mechanisms of outcomes research with individualized research career development programs. The key personnel in the RCDC are the Core Director, Theodore J. Hahn, M.D., the Associate Director, Alison Moore, M.D. and the Assistant Director, Catherine Sarkisian, M.D., M.S.P.H.