The Research Education. Training and Career Development Program will enhance the knowledge of and improve the skills required for the performance of high-quality innovative clinical and translational research, and thereby, advance the development of trainees planning a career in or interested in contributing meaningfully to clinical or translational research. We will provide outstanding short-, intermediate-, and long-term programs for predoctoral, postdoctoral, and nondoctoral trainees across all disciplines at all NCTCTSI participating institutions. In particular, we will enhance the participation of women and minority trainees. We proposed this approach to the NIH last year during the first cycle of competition for CTSA awards. Our proposal received very favorable reviews; with an overall score of 177, we just missed the pay line for funding. These positive reviews enforced our faith in the direction we were taking. During last year, we enthusiastically moved forward with our efforts and have gained additional experience. This experience leads us now to revise our original proposal. This revised section builds substantially on our original plan; fully addresses the concerns of the reviewers; and demonstrates our commitment to contribute novel and effective approaches to the NIH's effort to identify and implement best practices.
