The Vanderbilt-Meharry Translational Nexus is a fully interdisciplinary, translational research training program invigorated by group activities that intentionally mix clinical and non-clinical trainees across disciplines and levels of training for the explicit purpose of connecting, enlarging, and sustaining our community of translational scientists. This new model is responsive to the IOM report calling for changes in how we should train the next generation of researchers to drive translation endeavors and to excel in team science. Unlike traditional T32s our selection of trainees is not constrained by discipline, graduate program, or disease focus, and we incorporate experiences to foster emergence of interdisciplinary teams during training. We draw on our extremely successful programs for K awardees, whose training differs significantly from typical T32 programs, to introduce resources like interdisciplinary mentor panels, work-in-progress sessions, Translational Rounds, peer mentoring groups, writing workshops, and pragmatic career development seminars that intentionally mix scientific themes and tiers of trainees. Set in a uniquely collaborative culture with strong leadership, this program will serve 12 TL1 trainees: five pre-doctoral and five postdoctoral trainees, for up to five and three years of support respectively, and two medical student scholars for one-year research intensives (no prior research experience required). For this program we are introducing Pathways to individualize training trajectories. In addition to conducting mentored research as part of an established transdisciplinary team and pursuing their academic course of studies if applicable, trainees will craft Pathways that combine 42 contact hours (not credits) of didactic, intensive, and experiential learning in one of six areas including: Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Data Sciences, Measurement Methods, Clinical Context (for non-clinical trainees), Technology Transfer and Innovation, and Community Engagement. Components of pathways build key translational competencies, yet are flexible and allow extensive individual tailoring to best match prior training and future career directions of the trainee. This program will benefit from coordination by a CTSA Hub in a medical center that ranks 10th in overall NIH funding; values and achieves diversity, has substantial research, education, and program evaluation infrastructure; desires synergy across TL1 and KL2 proposals; collaborates well with other CTSA sites, and provides trainees access to an abundance of research cores and unique models for expert guidance and consultation like Studios, Biostatistics Clinics, REDCap Data Management Clinics; a library of funded grants, internal study sections, and much more. Combined, this program carefully fosters excellence to inspire careers dedicated to interdisciplinary translational science and prepare future leaders of high performing scientific teams.
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