Institutional Career Development

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Health research is undergoing dramatic change fueled by groundbreaking technological innovations, the increasing availability of big data, growing prominence of cross-disciplinary team science and constraints on health research funding. This new world demands that successful researchers have a dynamic and evolving mastery of a broad set of disciplines and must be avid collaborators and lifelong learners. At the Boston University CTSI we have crafted an innovative career development program that addresses these needs and we request funding to support this innovative and integrated program. Our vision encompasses two specific aims as follows: 1. Build a system that provides continuous comprehensive mentoring and career development support for scholars from postdoctoral training through early faculty years 2. Anticipate the skills that scholars will need for future success in research and provide these in an ongoing fashion in the curriculum. At BU and its affiliates there is an extensive breadth of research, a wealth and diversity of existing training programs, a comprehensive curriculum, an abundance of accomplished and invested mentors, and close collaborations between basic scientists and clinicians and clinical scientists. Among special institutional strengths that foster the development of junior faculty are a vibrant faculty development program, pilot award program, and commitment to core resources and cutting-edge technologies. The program is targeted to our K community of investigators. It includes all junior faculty who are in K programs: KL2 scholars, NIH K grant recipients and junior faculty with other career development awards (including awards provided by institutional funds). It also includes postdoctoral fellows. A major goal of our career development program is to provide support to scholars across the continuum of their careers. For junior faculty with career development support including those beginning KL2 support, we have developed the PRIME Program (Pathway to Research Independence and Mentoring Excellence) program. This program provides mentoring, interactive instruction, reviews of works in progress and mock grant reviews to support these scholars during their early career development through submission of their first scientific grants. Our ultimate goal is to create a cadre of well-educated translational researchers who have the skills and passion to contribute to improving the health of the communities we serve.