We propose a two-year Mentored Career Development (MCD) Program for clinician scholars that will lead to general competency in clinical and translational research and establish a lifelong methodological foundation overlaid with the additional competencies in communications, grant-writing, leadership and team science that are requisite for success as an independent career investigator. Consistent with the theme of the Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute (SC CTSI), the MCD Scholars will also develop the specific competencies and insights needed to carry out research in and translate findings to diverse populations. The MCD Program builds on a formal methodological core and complementary career development activities that have been established during the first four years of funding. We plan every-other- year cohorts of seven trainees, three supported by this award and four with institutional support. Trainees will enroll either in the existing Master of Science or Certificate in Clinical, Translational and Biomedical Investigations, completing a three-course methodological core, courses in biostatistics, and new courses on research in diverse populations and informatics. A major outcome for the core courses is completion of a K or R type proposal. The program for each MCD Scholar is tailored around the Individual Development Plan (IDP) and discussion with the mentoring team. Complementary activities include a career development seminar series, NIH-style mock review of planned applications, and mentor training. Scholars will have community- based experiences related to clinical and translational research and work with mentors from a community setting. They will have an array of internal and external opportunities to gain experience in regulatory science, in innovation and technology transfer, in health services and health outcomes, and in industry settings. A robust distance education platform is in place, which will be used for flexibility, archiving, and dissemination of materials, and training is offered in ?digital scholarship.? We intend to collaborate with the other California hubs to develop and disseminate a model curriculum in research on diverse populations, along with other products. Evaluation covers short-, intermediate- and long-term metrics, and the resulting data are used for continuing refinement of our program. The Multiple Principal Investigators, Drs. Samet and Patino-Sutton, have collaborated in developing the program over the first funding cycle; they are joined by faculty and mentors who bring expertise and experience with all phases of clinical and translational research and have rich records of research in diverse populations. Looking back over accomplishments since the SC CTSI was funded by the National Institutes of Health, we can identify transformative and widespread institutional change consequent to the current KL2 and TL1 programs. We have established a novel model for training at an institution that had only begun to formalize training in clinical and translational research before the SC CTSI programs were initiated. In this next phase, we will refine our training approach and aim to train researchers who carry out meaningful research to improve the health of diverse populations.
