Preparing the Next Generation of Researchers in Aging

描述(由申请人提供)：有抱负的研究科学家往往由于缺乏重点、指导不足和合作机会不足而无法发展成功的职业生涯。教职初期是一个特别脆弱的时期，在这段时间里，他们可以从资深教员的指导、个性化的正式指导、参与既定的研究项目、对正在进行的工作的批评以及专业网络的机会中受益。这一学术领袖职业奖(K07)的目标有两个：(1)促进健康科学学科的初级教员研究人员的成功发展，他们的工作将为在社区和长期护理环境中向患有慢性病和残疾的老年人提供健康服务的紧迫问题提供新的线索，并通过这样做，(2)提高北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校(UNC-CH)在这些领域做出重大研究贡献的能力。拟议的项目将纳入塞西尔·G·谢普斯卫生服务研究中心的老龄化、残疾和长期护理项目--这是校园内最大的老龄化研究项目，该项目进行一系列跨学科研究，并有良好的指导记录。该项目将由菲利普·斯隆指导，他是该项目的联合主任，医学博士，公共卫生硕士，他将花费四分之一的时间进行这项工作。谢丽尔·齐默尔曼博士，该项目的另一位联合主任，将在与她的K02长期护理相关的领域捐赠10%的时间。其他将协助这项工作的项目教职员工包括一名生物统计学家、分析师、项目经理和研究助理。项目指导委员会将包括校园内面向老龄化的项目、中心和研究所的主任。拟议的项目将包括每年为四个初级学院(学院研究员)提供密集的指导和研究职业发展方案。参与者将来自医学、护理、药剂学、社会工作、专职卫生、牙科和公共卫生等学科。每个参与者的赞助单位将保证至少40%的专门研究时间。参与者将参与一项有组织的计划，包括：a)职业指导；b)密集的研究指导；c)可用于试点和初步研究的受试者队列；d)关于老龄化方面的关键方法和资金问题的每月系列研讨会；e)两周一次的正在进行的工作的讨论；f)所需的研究报告和建议；以及g)每年4000美元的联网、职业旅行和研究发展津贴。候选人选择将优先考虑传统上代表人数较少的少数族裔、女性和内科科学家。研究员将在通过研究事业奖、R01或重大基金会研究拨款获得可观的独立资金后退出该计划。项目在个人和计划层面上的成功将由现任和前任院士的学术成就来衡量。已经建立了体制机制，为这种指导模式提供持续支持，如果成功，这些机制将作为候选人谢普斯中心和大学负责研究和研究生研究的副校长之间的伙伴关系进行。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Aspiring research scientists frequently fail to develop successful careers due to a lack of focus, insufficient mentoring, and inadequate opportunities for collaboration. The early faculty years are an especially vulnerable period, during which time they could benefit from the guidance of senior faculty, individually-tailored formal instruction, participation in established research programs, critique of works-in-progress, and opportunities for professional networking. The goal of this academic leadership career award (K07) is twofold: (1) to promote the successful development of junior faculty researchers in the health sciences disciplines whose work will shed new light on pressing issues related to the provision of health services to older persons with chronic illness and disability in community and long-term care settings, and, in doing so, (2) to enhance the capacity of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) to make significant research contributions in these areas. The proposed project will be housed in the Program on Aging, Disability and Long-Term Care of the Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research - the largest aging research program on campus, which conducts a range of interdisciplinary research and has a strong track record of mentoring. The project will be directed by Philip Sloane, MD, MPH, the program's co-director, who will devote one-quarter time to this effort. Sheryl Zimmerman, PhD, the program's other co-director, will donate ten percent time in areas relevant to her K02 on long-term care. Other program faculty and staff who will assist in this effort include a biostatistician, analyst, project manager, and research assistant. The project steering committee will include directors of aging-oriented programs, centers and institutes on campus. The proposed project will consist of an intensive mentoring and research career development program for four junior faculties per year (Faculty Fellows). Participants will be drawn from the disciplines of medicine, nursing, pharmacy, social work, allied health, dentistry, and public health. Each participant's sponsoring unit will guarantee a minimum of 40 % dedicated research time. Participants will engage in a structured program consisting of: a) career mentoring; b) intensive research mentoring; c) availability of subject cohorts for use in pilot and preliminary studies; d) a monthly seminar series on critical methodological and funding issues in aging; e) biweekly discussions of works-in-progress; f) required research presentations and proposals; and g) a $4,000 annual allowance for networking, professional travel, and research development. Candidate selection will assign priority to traditionally underrepresented minorities, women, and physician-scientists. Fellows will transition out of the program upon obtaining significant independent funding through a research career award, R01, or major foundation research grant. Project success on both individual and programmatic levels will be measured by academic accomplishments of current and former Faculty Fellows. Institutional mechanisms are in place to provide ongoing support for this model of mentoring, if successful, and they will be pursued as a partnership between the Candidate, the Sheps Center, and the University's Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Studies.