Career Enhancement Core

SUMMARY The overall goal of the Career Enhancement Core of the MS SCORESD is to develop promising junior faculty into independent, NIH-funded investigators with expertise in sex differences and women’s health by providing (1) a stimulating, productive mentoring environment, (2) research assistance and technical training, (3) career development resources, and (4) fiscal and technical support. A major aim of this program is to foster establishment of independent research programs by junior faculty members, to train them in how to perform sex differences and women's health research, if they do not already know, and aid in grant writing and project management. To achieve this goal, the CEC core will capitalize on the expertise of successful basic, translational, and clinical investigators at UMMC and the research resources provided by these established investigators and their laboratories. The CEC will accomplish the goals of the SCORESD by the following: 1) Develop educational-based programs to instruct investigators in the best practices for performing sex differences and women’s health research; 2) Recruit experienced faculty to train and mentor investigators in development of sex differences and women’s health research programs; 3) Train junior investigators in grant writing skills, and aid in the development of their specific aims, experimental design and overall grantsmanship as they apply for independent funding; 4) Manage the Pilot Project Grants program; 5) Assess the progress and success of the Pilot Project investigators as they obtain preliminary data and extramural funding.