Professional Development Core

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The Professional Development (PD) Core of the West Virginia Clinical and Translational Science Institute (WVCTSI) trains clinical and translational investigators along the career continuum, from graduate and professional school to faculty, by providing an integrative approach to investigator development. The PD Core promotes the professional development of investigators in the clinical and translational sciences (CTS) across West Virginia (WV) through new opportunities created, organized, and delivered via robust institutional partnerships and programs in the WVCTSI. The overarching goal is to enhance investigators’ ability to develop and sustain competitive, independent research programs and increase collaborative research activities that target health conditions in the medically underserved and rural communities of this state, while fostering inclusion of individuals with diverse backgrounds and research interests. The PD Core has a strong record of effective programmatic activities that include academic graduate CTS degree programs, professional development workshops and seminars, early stage investigator research mentoring programs, grant proposal development services, mentorship in clinical trials, and diverse working groups, with these programs to be continued in the renewal (years 11-15). The PD core will develop new programs to continue meeting the overarching goals by 1) instituting a solid mentoring framework that promotes sustained success and diversification of CTS researchers in WV, 2) setting the stage for early stage clinicians to jump-start a career in CTS research, and 3) strengthening professional development and research distribution by reducing barriers to publication. The PD Core will sustain the successes of the past decade and pivot to ensure the long-term sustainability of the WV research capacity by implementing the following specific aims: 1) Establish the WVCTSI Mentorship Training Program to support research career development across disciplines, career stages, and partner sites, 2) Empower the training of early career stage clinicians in CTS by establishing the Fellows Research Academy (FRA) program, and 3) Enhance the dissemination and impact of the WVCTSI members’ clinical and translational research findings through editorial support and honing of specific writing skills. The target audiences for the PD Core services include faculty and advanced trainees in the health professions (DDS, DO, MD, MD/PhD, PA, PharmD, PhD and RN) and include active recruitment of non-traditional trainees (bioengineering, computer sciences, clinical psychology, and business economics) in WV. By building upon past successes, implementing the Aims outlined, and through its strong collaborative partnerships, the PD Core will address the specific needs of clinical and translational investigators while also developing the workforce capacity needed to provide discoveries and solutions through research to address the health disparities in WV and rural Appalachian areas. The PD Core programs will provide a strong foundation to achieve the WVCTSI goal of improving the health of West Virginians by growing the next generation of investigators conducting clinical and translational research.