Institutional Career Development Core

Penn’s Institutional Career Development Core aims to continue to focus on recruiting, training, and nurturing towards independence a new generation in the discipline of clinical translational science (CTS). Penn’s KL2 program offers a comprehensive research training and career development experience for junior faculty as well as postdoctoral scholars transitioning to junior faculty in the Schools of Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, Engineering, and Veterinary Medicine. The program comprises (i) structured curricula with the option of a Master’s degree or certificate program, (ii) individualized team research mentoring, (iii) career-building education in the form of a Professional Skills Development Program, (iv) infrastructural support in the acquisition of K and R awards and pilot grants, (v) additional learning environments inclusive of seminar series, symposia, multidisciplinary electives, and intern-/externships at the academic-industrial interface, and (vi) access to core resources designed to address infrastructural barriers to CTS. Upon completion of the KL2 program, scholars will have mastered the required core competencies for CTS scientists, have published in peer-reviewed literature, received grant funding, and/or an academic or industry appointment with continued CTS engagement. Our efforts for this cycle will continue to focus on strengthening the discipline of CTS in a collaborative team science approach. Nine scholars will be appointed per year, each for a minimum of two years. Our objectives are: 1. (i) To continue to provide CTS training opportunities in discovery-, entrepreneurial-, and regulatory science, translational therapeutics, and biomedical informatics, (ii) To expand, to include educational opportunities in data- and implementation science and healthcare innovation, and (iii) To train scholars to leverage big data in order to address hypotheses with targeted precision. 2. To expand our Professional Skills Development Program to enable scholars to execute a long-term vision and master interpersonal and professional development skills. 3. To leverage Penn’s innovative environment and drug development successes to increase further opportunities for scholars to engage successfully at the academic- industry interface. 4. To test innovative strategies to enhance retention in the CTS workforce