Developmental and Mentoring Core

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Developmental and Mentoring Core The goal of the HU CFAR Developmental and Mentoring Core is to catalyze cutting-edge HIV research at Harvard and its affiliated hospitals through direct grant funding of projects that enhance the CFAR mission and align with the research priorities of the OAR. The Core focuses on leadership development through funding and mentoring of Early Career Investigators (ECIs) and provides developmental funding, grant writing mentorship, and training in high-priority scientific areas to support the next generation of HIV researchers. The foundation of the Core’s funding mechanisms is the Developmental Award, awarded twice yearly to meritorious ECIs. To respond to developing HIV research priorities, as defined at our annual Strategic Planning Meeting and by the OAR, the Core also releases requests for proposals to catalyze new areas of research represented by HU CFAR Scientific Working Groups. The Core also sponsors and coordinates workshops to develop critical new HIV research skills in areas that have included microbial genomics and computational biology, enhancing the ability of CFAR members to engage in emerging research areas and technologies. Core mentoring activities provide both intensive individual feedback, for example, through mock K reviews prior to each NIH HIV/AIDS funding deadline, as well as broader community skill-building, such as through the Core’s K Writing Workshop and other CFAR-sponsored training opportunities. The mission of the Developmental and Mentoring Core remains central to the HU CFAR, and the enormous value of this Core has been broadly recognized at an institutional level: The Harvard Provost and the Deans of Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, as well as affiliated Harvard hospitals contribute funding support for Developmental Grants that further leverage the CFAR. In the first four years of the current funding cycle, we reviewed 115 grant applications and funded 53 (from 48 investigators), for a 46% funding rate.