The application requests funding for a new educational program, the """"""""Advanced Research Institute in Geriatric Psychiatry"""""""" or ARI. The ARI program targets a critical but vulnerable phase of career development in geriatric psychiatry clinical and services research: the transition from junior investigator to independent (e.g., RO1-level funding) investigator. The ARI builds upon the NIMH-supported, highly successful Summer Research Institute (SRI) in Geriatric Psychiatry that provides a one-week, intensive training experience for entry-level investigators aimed at increasing the number who achieve academic career awards or other forms of early career development support. The ARI differs from SRI by targeting the next phase of career development and by providing more focused and sustained support aimed at achieving the R01 and assuming the responsibilities of independent scientist. The Advanced Research Institute's Program Director is a member of the SRI Executive Board; the Program Faculty, who will serve as primary mentors to program participants, are all Mid-Career (K02/K24) investigators; other members of the SRI Executive Board serve on a Senior Advisory Committee for the ARI; and a large pool of senior scientists are available to provide technical consultation in a large number of methodological and substantive areas. The goals of the Advanced Research Institute in Geriatric Psychiatry are at several levels, all ultimately contributing to geriatric psychiatry's overarching mission to reduce the burden of mental disorders in late life. For the field of geriatric psychiatry, the ARI goals are to: 1. Increase the number of independent scientists (e.g., R01-level investigators) conducting clinical and services research in areas related to late-life mental health; 2. Decrease attrition of junior investigators from the field; 3. Cultivate a new cadre of academic leaders who will assume mentorship of developing investigators and other responsibilities of academic citizenship; 4. Expand the number of senior leaders taking responsibility for the long-term growth and development of the field. For the participating Program Fellows, the ARI goals are to: 1. increase the likelihood of obtaining independent R01-level funding; 2. decrease the lag between early career development support and independent R01-level funding; 3. increase knowledge and skills in mentoring and other responsibilities of academic leadership. We plan to achieve these goals by a program that provides focused mentoring and consultation. The program will support 12 ARI Fellows annually (each from 1-2 years) through: 1. Sustained mentoring by a member of the program faculty (including a visit to Mentor's institution); 2. An annual 3-day ARI Spring Institute focused on research grants preparation and scientific citizenship (mentoring, guidelines to scientific citizenship); 3. Targeted technical consultation from senior experts though one-on-one meetings and annual workshops.
