Vanderbilt ASPIRE Program The goal of the Vanderbilt ASPIRE program is to empower and prepare biomedical sciences PhD students and postdoctoral scholars (collectively called trainees) to make well-informed career decisions, and to broaden the experiences of trainees so they transition efficiently to research and research-related careers in nonacademic and academic venues. ASPIRE will integrate career and professional development into the PhD curriculum. We will engage external and internal partners to offer new educational and experiential training opportunities that broaden the experiences of our trainees. New didactic modules in business and entrepreneurship, communication, and clinical research will be offered to supplement research training and help trainees develop knowledge related to careers outside academic research. The ASPIRE program will create a new Externship and Internship program for interested trainees to gain experiential, practical exposure to a career area of interest. To prepare trainees for these experiential opportunities, we will offer new educational seminars in career planning and career management. Together, the ASPIRE initiatives will enhance the career readiness and resilience of our trainees without lengthening time-to-degree for PhD students or time-to-completion of postdoctoral research training. Our trainees will thus be well-poised to join the workforce and contribute maximally to the advancement of science and medicine in a range of research and research-related careers.
Vanderbilt ASPIRE program The Vanderbilt ASPIRE program will engage external partners from a range of professions to offer new educational and experiential training opportunities for biomedical sciences doctoral and postdoctoral scholars at Vanderbilt University. By broadening the training experiences of these students, our graduates will be well- poised to join the workforce and contribute maximally to the advancement of science and medicine in a range of research and research-related careers.
| Meyers, Lindsay C; Brown, Abigail M; Moneta-Koehler, Liane et al. (2018) Survey of checkpoints along the pathway to diverse biomedical research faculty. PLoS One 13:e0190606 |
| Mathur, Ambika; Brandt, P; Chalkley, R et al. (2018) Evolution of a Functional Taxonomy of Career Pathways for Biomedical Trainees. J Clin Transl Sci 2:63-65 |
| Meyers, Frederick J; Mathur, Ambika; Fuhrmann, Cynthia N et al. (2016) The origin and implementation of the Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training programs: an NIH common fund initiative. FASEB J 30:507-14 |
| Mathur, Ambika; Meyers, Frederick J; Chalkley, Roger et al. (2015) Transforming training to reflect the workforce. Sci Transl Med 7:285ed4 |
