This program provides investigators with tools to obtain funding necessary to carry out clinical research to improve the diagnosis and treatment of individuals with musculoskeletal diseases. The national impact of this young investigators research will be appreciated by musculoskeletal disease patients who will be diagnosed sooner and treated more effectively. Their quality of life will be improved from novel clinical research studies performed by the young investigators in these workshops. Overall objectives: 1) To train young clinical investigators in academic junior faculty positions who are concerned with musculoskeletal diseases to become successfully funded researchers. 2) To provide young clinical investigators an opportunity to work with experienced clinical investigators to assist them in securing funding. Specific goals: 1) To train 15-17 young investigators in the following areas: 1) improving grant- writing skills, 2) learning the processes for applying for NIH grants, 3) recognizing the characteristics of NIH grant proposals, and 4) preparing the required elements. Twelve months later, participants attend a second workshop to review submitted grant applications, summary statements, and other topics related to the successful pursuit of a career as a researcher and in academics. 2) To review proposals from new participants, and guide them on the steps they must take to develop competitive proposals. 3) To review summary statements from participants who began the program 12 months ago (if applicable). To review the issues they need to address to fully develop their submissions, if participants have not yet submitted proposals.
The burdening of musculoskeletal diseases in the United States and worldwide is growing rapidly due to the aging population. This program provides junior clinical musculoskeletal researchers with tools to obtain peer-reviewed funding in the musculoskeletal fields, and pursue research that will improve the both the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.
