CTSA Predoctoral T32 at Albert Einstein College of Medicine

This application seeks to continue a longstanding CTSA-supported predoctoral program, the PhD in Clinical Investigation (PCI) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Einstein). PCI combines specialized training to prepare biomedical scientists to understand and appreciate the methodologies of clinical and population science, to practice team science as both leaders and members of research teams, and to advance the discipline of translational science. PCI leverages Einstein's longstanding success in fundamental laboratory-based research. PCI's unique integration with our master's degree-granting Clinical Research Training Program (CRTP), along with our requirement that each student's research and mentoring team must “bridge a translational divide,” fosters multidisciplinary team science while teaching the methodologies to overcome barriers plaguing translational research. PCI has (1) conferred 18 PhDs, (2) 12 current trainees, (3) sustained enrollment of trainees from various communities throughout the US, and (4) a dramatic increase in inquiries and applicants. Einstein is located in the Bronx, NY, the poorest urban county in the United States, whose catchment area experiences poor health outcomes related to cancer, cardiovascular disease, and infectious diseases. Since much of our trainees' research involves patient data and samples from our catchment area, PCI has essentially been training trainees to conduct clinical and translational science (TS) research that meaningfully contributes to our understanding and improving health outcomes. Building from our program's success and increased demand, we seek to evolve PCI during the next funding period with formalized emphasis on ensuring program sustainability. We will focus on overcoming research barriers through collaboration with the Community and Stakeholder Engagement Research Module of our companion CTSA UM1. We will improve training of the next generation of trainees, who have been unfavorably affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, by establishing the position of Associate Director for Student Support. We will improve sustainability by developing a PCI-specific F-award path to submission program. While the PCI is disease-agnostic, many of our trainees have undertaken research that is highly relevant to our catchment area, particularly in relation to infectious disease, cancer, and brain science. During the next funding period, we seek to leverage the non-categorical PCI and develop new Research Focus Areas in Infectious Disease, Cancer Outcomes, and Brain Sciences, to integrate highly funded mentors and provide the opportunity to bring additional disease-specific T32 grants into PCI, providing PCI trainees funding opportunities beyond the four disease-agnostic slots sought through this application. While our training approach will remain non-categorical, in the next project period we will seek to emphasize these focus areas per our institutional strengths, while applying TS to all trainees' projects.