Developmental Core

Modified Developmental Core Project Summary/Abstract Section The D-CFAR Developmental Core will establish a centralized mechanism to provide mentoring, training, and supplemental funding to enlarge and strengthen the cadre of HIV investigators in St. Louis, the Missouri region, and beyond. To achieve this vision, the Developmental Core (DC), led by Drs. Fred Ssewamala, Patricia Cavazos, and Richard Grucza will design and deliver critical resources through leveraging our existing strengths and filling critical gaps. In Aim 1, we will create a structured mentoring program that focuses systematic and personalized attention on emerging HIV investigators. We will prioritize tailoring existing developmental resources in our environment, many funded via the Clinical Translational Sciences Award (to WU and partner institutions including SLU). We will tailor these existing resources to the needs of HIV investigators. We will also create new and targeted activities to fill gaps (e.g., consultation for HIV researchers). We will guide utilization by creating a community of emerging investigators through an HIV works-in-progress (H-IP) group that will provide structured expertise as well as peer-to-peer learning. Overall, we will create a system that reflects contemporary “sociological” views on mentoring, which see a trainee in relation to an ecosystem of resources in which one or more mentors play important, but not exclusive roles, in growth. In Aim 2, we will strengthen the quality and culture of mentorship related to HIV research. We will establish a three-component “mentor-the-mentor” training program, including a Leadership Development in HIV Workshop, mentorship attendance at the annual inter-CFAR meeting, and a “Mentoring Symposium in HIV” seminar that will include an invited speaker and awards for mentoring as well as mentored research. In Aim 3, we will provide supplemental support and funding to facilitate growth of emerging HIV investigators conducting interdisciplinary research. Supplemental funding will support translational and transdisciplinary development of investigators, help span traditional environmental silos both within academia and between academia and regional community public health stakeholders. Together, these activities will form a critical pillar of the D-CFAR, enlarge our network, advance scientific response to HIV, and turn the tide on the epidemic in St. Louis, greater Missouri, and beyond.