CTSA K12 Program at New York University

About This Grant

PROJECT SUMMARY The overarching aim of the K12 program at the New York University (NYU) Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI) is to train the next generation of clinical and translational researchers to improve individual and public health through rigorous, reproducible, and solution-oriented biomedical research aligned with national research priorities. To help realize NCATS’ strategic goal to “enable all people to contribute to and benefit from translational science”, we will build on the previous three cycles of funding for our K12. The training record for previous scholars is excellent, with all 28 remaining in research or academic leadership careers and 23 out of 28 obtaining federal funding within 2 years of the program. In this proposal, the program will be led by two new, experienced program directors with a long-standing commitment to fostering the careers of early-stage investigators, Drs. Melamed and Shaukat. Both have active clinical and translational research programs, have undergone extensive mentor training, have won mentorship awards, and have led multiple institutional career development programs. They will collaborate closely to maintain the tradition of excellence of the program. The new career development program and environment will focus on fostering the seven attributes of a translational scientist and leadership development, while emphasizing rigorous study design, research transparency, and reproducibility consistent with gold-standard biomedical science. The program is composed of didactic courses, experiential learning, and individualized leadership coaching. Each scholar will have at least two science mentors, a career mentor and a mentorship advisory committee that will meet regularly to ensure adequate progress along the scholar’s independent development plan and Scholar-Mentor Compact. Our scholars will present to members of our Community Advisory Board. NYU has shown a substantial commitment to the program by increasing the number of institutionally funded positions from two to seven. We will be guided by our long-standing External Advisory Committee which meets annually and provides supervision, direction and approval of scholar appointments to the program. Our 50 faculty mentors offer a wide range of CTS expertise, from T1 to T4 funded science. Over half of the mentors have served as program directors of NIH funded training programs (T32, K12, R25, TL1, etc.) and 5 have current mid-career mentoring awards (K24 or equivalent). We will employ rigorous evaluation methods and continuous quality improvement to refine the program and equip scholars with the tools to guide their careers, accelerating the pace of CTS and preparing them to become future mentors and leaders, including training in reproducible research practices, data science approaches, and responsible use of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence in biomedical research. By advancing their knowledge and expanding their skills, our K12 scholars will emerge as the next generation of leaders in CTS who will translate biomedical discoveries into measurable health improvements for the American public.