The primary aim of this application is to support the development of postdoctoral fellows and junior and senior faculty pursuing career pathways in comparative effectiveness research (CER). Eligible candidates for this KM1 Scholars Program will be identified from several key sources including 1) existing clinical fellowship training programs at the University of Pennsylvania and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 2) postdoctoral clinical research training programs including the Masters of Science in Health Policy Research, Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Clinical Scholars Program and numerous NIH and AHRQ funded post graduate (T32) training programs and 3) departments across the University with junior and senior faculty interested in pursuing CER. In addition, national search strategies will help assure the recruitment of outstanding candidates to the Penn campus. Candidates supported through this program will complete mentored research projects focusing on the generation, translation, and dissemination of evidence in the area of comparative effectiveness, including medical interventions that address prognostic, preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic or palliative goals. Two training pathways are proposed. For those junior investigators without prior formal training in clinical research methods, the program will support the completion of a two year Masters level degree program in Clinical Epidemiology (Masters of Science in Clinical Epidemiology) or Health Policy Research (Masters of Science in Health Policy Research). These postdoctoral KM1 Scholars will be transitioning from graduate level training in health related disciplines (medicine, nursing, health care management, biostatistics) into faculty careers. For those KM1 Scholars having completed such formal training, the majority of the supported time will be devoted towards mentored clinical research projects, with opportunities for additional didactic activities as needed. These faculty KM1 Scholars will be either junior or senior faculty with established records in scholarship, now seeking mentorship in order to expand their work into the area of CER. All KM1 scholars will be assigned a primary mentor and will benefit from the input of secondary mentors as needed and an advisory committee composed of leaders in the field. The pool of mentors represents a group of nationally recognized scientists leading clinically and methodologically diverse programs in CER. The University of Pennsylvania has substantial resources to support these scholars, including programs in several national research networks including the Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics (CERTs), the Developing Evidence to Inform Decisions about Effectiveness (DEcIDE) network, and a Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN). An evaluation plan is in place to track the success of the CER Scholars during their time in the program and beyond.
Our ability to deliver high quality health care depends on the successful conduct of research on both the comparative effectiveness of different health care interventions (including drugs, devices, diagnostics, and organizational policies) and strategies designed to translate these results into practice. The proposed KM1 Scholars program will recruit and train comparative effectiveness research scientists at different career stages in order to assure an adequate pipeline of outstanding investigators in this area.
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