The incongruence between advances in basic and computational discovery, and the continuing unmet health needs of the population, demands a radical acceleration of clinical and translational science. While health concerns affect all social strata, disease impact is greatest on the poor and marginalized, particularly in ethnic and racial minority communities. In confronting this critical need, the major remediable gap is the paucity of interdisciplinary investigators to rapidly translate new knowledge from bench to bedside to community. We propose a full-time KL2 Mentored Career Development program to advance the translational careers of innovative clinically oriented post-doctoral scientists from diverse research backgrounds and perspectives (T1- T4). The KL2 aims to provide trainees with the knowledge and skills to conduct pioneering and effective clinical and translational science in an ethically responsible manner. There are six key activities by which we seek to meet our overarching objective. 1) An Individualized Development Plan, entailing a comprehensive assessment of KL2 Scholars? strengths and areas for improvement. 2) Scholar-specific mentoring committees that meet biannually to track and support career trajectories. 3) Monthly group meetings with the KL2 directors. 4) Formal didactic instruction. 5) Support for innovative and specialized training environments and settings. 6) Protected time for conducting a mentored research program and undergoing individualized training. KL2 Scholars will successfully complete training on the responsible conduct of research, general and targeted formal didactics, Masters-level training in multidisciplinary translational programs, specialized/advanced course work, training in team science, individualized training in grant preparation, exposure to alternative career opportunities, distance and exchange training, and mentored performance of an innovative high-impact translational research project. Target expectations include publication of ?2 manuscripts and submission of a K-level grant or equivalent. We will recruit sequential cohorts of three Scholars each, all with doctoral degrees (MD, PhD, DDS, PsyD, etc.) and extensive prior research training (?2 years post-doctorate), for a 2-year cycle of training (total=9). Scholars will dedicate ?75% effort to career development activities, supported by KL2 directors with extensive and exemplary mentoring experience, a strongly invested KL2 Executive Committee, and a broad and diverse Program Faculty who will serve on Scholar-specific mentoring committees to assure continuation of our excellent prior experience in the initial iteration of the KL2 program.
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