?Professional Development (PD) The Delaware CTR ACCEL Program seeks to accelerate the growth and development of clinical and translational research and to implement programs that facilitate the translation of fundamental knowledge to clinical utility. Suc- cess requires focused support for the professional development of investigators and multidisciplinary teams. In the initial phase of the ACCEL program, we implemented substantive programs and infrastructure to mentor and sup- port the development of junior investigators. Based on our experience and data from participating investigators, we propose to build on our strong and successful foundation to implement a more focused Professional Development (PD) Core that address significant areas of need facing junior faculty. Here, we address four areas including, build- ing research teams, developing grants, translating scientific knowledge to clinical utility, and communicating results and their impact. Our goals are realized through 4 specific aims.
The specific aims of the PD Core are to: 1) Enhance collaboration and team building among junior investigators. 2) Increase the extramural funding rate for junior inves- tigators. 3) Bridge the translational divide between the early development of materials, devices, and medicines and successful preclinical testing. 4) Improve the ability of junior investigators to communicate effectively with mem- bers of their research teams and the community.
These aims are accomplished through focused programs directed by a team of accomplished researchers and educators. Programs include a Grant Development Program that frees researchers from clinical, teaching or administrative tasks to allow them to focus on grant writing. We also support, mentoring workshops, short-term courses, centralized access to tools, and support for collaborative project devel- opment. Efforts to assure engagement and retention of interested faculty from diverse technical and academic back- grounds are developed, and outreach and marketing initiatives assure broad dissemination of ACCEL resources. The core is managed by an accomplished PI and a team of six senior faculty members from across all five ACCEL insti- tutions. The PD Core leadership is supported by a Program Manager to assure the effectiveness of new and ongoing programs. Faculty from the Medical University of South Carolina?s CTSA-supported Translational Research Institute serve as advisors and provide direct support for initiatives in Delaware. Successful execution will establish four pillars of professional development across the ACCEL program. In this way, the PD Core enhances the professional develop- ment of clinical and translational researchers across the state, provides resources that are associated with improved faculty retention, and supports a fundamental culture shift toward effective clinical and translational research across ACCEL institutions.
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