The Philadelphia Program for Mentored Research Training in Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases (PERFORM-KUH U2C/Tl1)

The overall goals of the PERFORM-KUH Professional Development Core (PDC) are to enhance the success and competitiveness of trainees in KUH-related research and to advance and sustain effective mentoring by PERFORM-KUH preceptors. The PDC will leverage the complementary strengths of academic institutions in the Philadelphia Metropolitan area to integrate trainees into KUH focused research careers, develop novel resources for career development, and enhance mentorship skills of PERFORM-KUH preceptors. The program described here will improve the trainees’ ability to compete for funding, foster biomedical writing, publication, and oral presentation skills, address work/life balance issues, and enhance professional skills needed to navigate the next steps towards a scientific career in KUH research. The PDC will develop new curricula tailored to the interests and professional needs of KUH trainees, integrating topics and concerns specific to KUH disciplines into professional development activities. In addition, many of the issues important for the professional development of KUH scientists extend beyond KUH topic areas, and some of the curriculum proposed here will tap into the abundant professional and career development resources already in place at the participating institutions. Professional development will include enhancement of mentoring skills for trainers by adapting curricula from the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professional development activities and mentoring will be monitored and enhanced using data compiled from a detailed PDC evaluation plan.