Professional Development Core

PROJECT ABSTRACT Professional Development Core The LAUNCH Professional Development Core aims to augment the trainees’ biomedical research career preparation, promote team science through a series of structured and individualized educational experiences and effective mentorship, and build and maintain a comprehensive training program that equips trainees with the skillsets they need to thrive in scientific careers. To achieve these aims, the Professional Development Core will capitalize on the expansive talent, resources, infrastructure and diverse disciplines at UCSF, UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and Stanford University– all of which have longstanding partnerships both in scientific enterprises as well as inter-institutional research training. We will also leverage our institutions’ network of collaborators within biomedical and engineer industries and the entrepreneurial spirit on which the Bay area thrives to enhance our trainees’ career development. Led by Dr. Glenn Chertow at Stanford University and Dr. Dirk Hockemeyer at UC Berkeley, this innovative Professional Development Core will augment career preparation and provide trainees with the skillsets that are necessary for them to compete successfully for funding. Our program will also provide continual guidance on navigating mentorship and career advancement, while exposing trainees to the range of research career pathways that are possible. Separate training pathways will be available for pre- and post-doctoral trainees and by discipline (nephrology, urology, or hematology) when appropriate in order to provide individualized research training and experiences that are tailored to each trainee’s needs and goals. We will routinely capture trainee and mentor feedback to drive continuous improvements in the quality of the professional development activities that are available within the LAUNCH Program and to ensure the success of our trainees and bolster their confidence in their decision to pursue research careers in KUH science.