CTSA K12 Program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham

The Deep South Translational Science Mentored Career Development Program K12 will support the training and advancement of Scholars to address the growing gap between research and the translation into clinical practice. Our Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) Partner Network of 11 institutions brings existing training infrastructure and ongoing partnerships. Integrating interdisciplinary and complementary approaches within our clinical translational science (CTS) teams will accelerate scientific innovations and promote enhanced prevention, treatment, wellness, and improved health for the individual, the community, and ultimately the population in our region, which is disproportionately burdened by chronic disease and poor health outcomes. We aim to create a career development program that instills Scholars with mastery of translational research (TR) core competencies through a curriculum that will nurture “translational thinking” and working with those outside their discipline. To be successful translational researchers, Scholars will acquire knowledge of translational science (TS). Over the grant period, we will provide career development for 24 Scholars who will be supported by a collaborative research base (136 mentors) with more than $277 million in extramural funding. Our overall goal for this career development program is to facilitate new, and expand existing, innovative early career training opportunities across the translational spectrum in areas such as drug discovery, integrative “omics”, clinical informatics, community engagement, and dissemination and implementation science with the goal of addressing disease and health challenges that disproportionately impact residents of the Deep South. We will mentor early career investigators and facilitate their growth into academic leaders within our Partner Network and nationally. Our specific aims are to: 1) Identify, recruit, and matriculate a cohort of Scholars across the CCTS Network from multiple scientific disciplines and institutions; 2) Provide an intensive multidisciplinary, continually updated curriculum and collaborative, experiential TS training program with emphasis on chronic diseases prevalent in the US Deep South; 3) Enhance the individualized career development of translational scientists representing a broad range of clinical and methodological disciplines through individual-, peer-, and team-based mentoring approaches, with a focus on future grant development and submission support to assist in successful career transition; 4) Advance mentoring, foster “team science,” and continue the expansion of cross-institutional training experiences for K12 Scholars and other early career investigators. The Deep South Translational Research K12 will provide new and expand existing infrastructure across our Partner Network to recruit and train individuals with significant potential to be highly successful translational scientists and to mentor them toward becoming leaders nationally with the ultimate goal to improve health outcomes in the Deep South.