Important Notice: Owing to calendar schedules imposed by the NIH for the start-up year of this program, applications for 2009-2010 KL2 funding will be due on NOVEMBER 23, 2009.  Applicants and their mentors must be prepared to accept KL2 funding for a start date of JANUARY, 2010. Please contact, Ms. Kathryn Nyland, Program Administrator (Kathryn.Nyland@va.gov), if you have questions.

TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH SCHOLARS PROGRAM (KL2)

A University-wide program to support the career development and research of health professionals who will translate basic science research findings to the bedside (T1 translation) and/or translate clinically-relevant research evidence into practice (T2 translational).

 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

The KL2 program in Translational Research is a new, University-wide, post-doctoral training and career development opportunity for physicians, nurses, dentists, and other appropriate health professionals.  This program is most appropriate for individuals in post-doctoral training who are on the path to, but have not yet achieved research independence, and who will continue to develop as investigators under the guidance of an established mentor. The program is a component of the Translational Research Education and Careers (TREC) unit of New York University’s NIH-funded Clinical Translational Science Institute (CTSI).  Applicants to the program must be participating in full-time research and career development at NYU.

The program includes formal didactic work and mentored research experience. At the completion of the program graduates will have the skills and track record to successfully obtain ongoing research funding.  Program success depends on the mentor(s) providing the resources necessary for the trainee to conduct the proposed research, including access to clinical populations and to existing data bases, and support in study design and coordination.  Where possible, however, the program will provide advice and/or assistance in obtaining additional access to such resources, and will strive to link trainees with additional collaborators/resources in schools beyond their own. Individually-tailored training in biological and molecular sciences, social and behavioral sciences, clinically-relevant research methods, and statistics, will be available as needed for the individual’s long-term goals. 

In addition to providing support and resources for individual trainees, the KL2 program will have as secondary goals the encouragement of interaction and cross-pollination between trainees with varying translational research interests, and the promotion of community building within the interest area of translational research.  To this end, and to contribute to trainees’ research and career development, KL2 scholars will participate in a KL2 translational journal club, and research-in-progress conferences, to be overseen by the KL2 Directors. In addition, KL2 scholars will also participate in common activities with other trainees within the TREC program, for example monthly TREC Grand Rounds.

This new program will be administered through the TREC and Co-directed by Francisco Xavier Castellanos (MD, NYU School of Medicine/NYU Child Study Center), Ralph V. Katz (DMD, MPH, PhD, NYU College of Dentistry), and Christine Kovner (RN, PhD, FAAN, NYU College of Nursing).

PROGRAM ELEMENTS

Support
The KL2 Translational Research Scholars Program provides a minimum of two years of consecutive funding for each Scholar, consisting of consecutive 12-month appointments. Additional year(s) of funding may be made available in the future dependent upon the availability of funds and the accomplishments/needs of Scholars. KL2 Scholars are expected to pursue other grants/funding sources for subsequent career development (i.e., once the KL2 is complete) based on the KL2 period of protected time. The NYU KL2 program is committed to supporting a minimum of two Scholars per year throughout the five year period of the NYU CTSI; subsequent program continuation will depend on NIH renewal of the NYU CTSI. Funding includes a stipend providing up to 75% institutional base salary, as well as funds for project-related expenses (including tuition for required courses), and travel budget.

Coursework
Required didactics—All KL2 Scholars will be required to complete, or to have completed: 1) a course in Grant Writing, 2) the required Human Subjects Medical School online tutorial course, and 3) a course in Scientific Integrity and Responsible Conduct of Clinical Research, all offered at NYU. 
Additional coursework—In addition to the required courses above, all KL2  Scholars will be required to select at least 8 credit hours or their equivalent from available course offerings at  NYU, e.g., the School of Medicine, College of Dentistry, College of Nursing, MPH in Global Health program, which may be accessed at www.nyu.edu. While specific courses are not required, it is expected that the courses taken will enhance the research activities of the individual student; consequently the selection of specific courses must be done in consultation with the trainee’s primary mentor and will be subject to approval by the KL2 Directors. With special permission, relevant courses at other institutions may be considered, within the budgetary constraints of the program. Scholars are also encouraged to consider enrolling in appropriate degree programs at NYU (e.g., the TREC K30 Masters of Science in Clinical Investigation program, which is designed to inter-digitate with trainees’ ongoing research activities—see the Masters program page under the TREC website).

Mentored Research Project and Mentoring
The most critical component of this program is the opportunity for Scholars to apply what they are learning in a mentored research project.  Each Scholar will be mentored at multiple levels. They will work most closely with a primary research mentor who will supervise the development and implementation of the study. In regular meetings, they will plan the design, and troubleshoot the progress, of the project. Identification of one or more interdisciplinary supplementary mentors, who can provide project skills and/or resources not otherwise available, will be strongly encouraged through the CTSI Transdisciplinary Mentoring Program.
Each trainee and his or her mentor(s) will also meet twice per year with the program executive committee.  Prior to this meeting, the committee will obtain an update of the trainee’s progress from the primary research mentor. The goals of these periodic meetings are to establish and review individual learning goals, plan choice of elective courses, review research progress, and troubleshoot programmatic and/or research roadblocks that may keep a Scholar from meeting his/her goals. Scholars will also benefit from peer mentoring as described under KL2 Cohort Activities, below.

KL2 Cohort Activities
All KL2 Scholars will meet, quarterly, for a KL2 Works-in-Progress session, at which KL2 Scholars will present, on a rotating basis, their interim research accomplishments and the challenges they encounter. Trainees will benefit from the focused feedback of their peers as well as the KL2 Directors, and develop their own skills at critical review and constructive feedback of research protocols. These sessions will also give Scholars an opportunity to learn of research in other areas, socialize, broaden horizons and teach one another. In addition to the KL2 Works-in-Progress session, KL2 Scholars will meet jointly with trainees in the other TREC programs (K30 trainees, TL1 trainees, Physician Scientist Training Program participants) and their mentors for a monthly CTSI Grand Rounds.  KL2 Scholars will also have access to other common TREC activities as these are developed.

Eligibility and Application Process
KL2 Scholars will be selected from among postdoctoral health professionals conducting translational research at NYU. To be eligible, the applicant will have successfully completed the equivalent of at least one year of postdoctoral research, and be working in a field that can be informed by translational approaches to health and healthcare, at the time of application. At the time of application, trainees must be active participants in a relevant on-going investigation and have the support of their proposed mentor and Chair or Dean. As appropriate to their training/activities, it is anticipated that candidates will typically have completed clinical training and will be either licensed to practice in New York State or have a doctoral degree in a health profession or the equivalent. An applicant must be a U.S. Citizen, permanent resident, or otherwise meet the requirements of the NIH under this funding mechanism.

A call for applications will be issued in the fall of each cycle to NYU faculty and Deans to seek applicants for the KL2 position(s). Applicants will submit a set of documents including a CV, set of personal statements and letters of support.

The KL2 Scholars will be selected by KL2 Program Directors, consisting of Drs. Kovner, Katz and Castellanos, in consultation with the TREC Executive Committee, based on (a) past accomplishments in their respective research field; (b) the research proposal; (c) potential to contribute to translational research in health sciences; (d) the committee’s assessment of the extent to which a KL2 award is likely to further the Scholar’s career development and lead to future independence as an investigator. In selecting awardees, the committee will also take into account the goal of establishing a diverse, multi-disciplinary cohort of KL2 Scholars over the years.  In considering applications, the committee will reserve the option of requesting additional information, and of requesting interviews with finalists.

Important Notice: Applications for 2009-2010 KL2 funding will be due by November 23, 2009.  Applicants must be prepared to accept KL2 funding for a start date of January, 2010.