Important Notice: Owing to calendar schedules imposed by the NIH for the start-up year of this program, applications for 2009-2010 TL1 funding will be due by NOVEMBER 23, 2009. Applicants and their mentors must be prepared to accept TL1 funding for a start date of JANUARY, 2010. Please contact the Program Administrator, Ms. Kathryn Nyland (Kathryn.Nyland@nyumc.org) if you have questions.
CTSI/TREC DOCTORAL TRAINING SUPPORT PROGRAM IN CLINICAL AND TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH (TL1)
ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The TL1 PhD program in Clinical and Translational Research
is a new, University-wide, doctoral training opportunity
for PhD students. The program focuses on the support and
development of doctoral candidates seeking careers in translational research,
and is a component of the Translational Research Education and Careers
(TREC) unit of New York University’s NIH-funded Clinical Translational Science Institute
(CTSI). The program provides opportunities for training in clinical and
translational research for PhD students in NYU’s CTSI Partner Schools
(see below).
While not creating a new discipline or department, the program
is building a trans-disciplinary framework for research training and mentoring
and providing expanded training opportunities in translational sciences
to outstanding doctoral students. Funding will be available for two years
for each student. Priority will be given to advanced doctoral students
with a demonstrated commitment to trans-disciplinary work in health and
healthcare, who seek to further build their translational research skills,
and who may have completed their fellowship or funding cycles at their
school.
The goals of the TL1 program are as follows:
1. To provide financial support to a multi-disciplinary group
of doctoral students studying at NYU CTSI Partner Schools, eager to
build careers as translational scientists.
2. To enhance and broaden the students’ discipline-based studies with integrative educational and training experiences led by scientists across the spectrum of translational science.
3. To create a trans-disciplinary framework for these students’ research by establishing Translational Interdisciplinary Mentoring (TIM) teams; by providing access to clinical populations, existing databases and specimen banks; and by supporting them with methodologic experts in study design and coordination, biological and molecular sciences, social and behavioral sciences, data management and statistics, and grant-writing.
The new program will be administered through the TREC and Co-Directed by Perry Halkitis, PhD (Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development) and Jan Blustein, MD, PhD (Wagner Graduate School of Public Service).
PROGRAM ELEMENTS
Support
The TL1 program will provide an annual stipend, determined
by the terms of the NIH and generally consistent with institutional
doctoral stipend levels, for a period of two years. Additional
funds will be provided annually to each trainee to assist
with tuition/fees, travel expenses to a research meeting,
and health insurance costs.
Mentored Research Project and Mentoring
At the heart of the program is the trainee’s own doctoral
research project, under the aegis of the trainee’s primary
mentor/PI. As detailed below, it is assumed that at the time
of application, the trainee’s research project will be
under way. While the TL1 Directors will neither help the trainee
select nor develop the project, they will be available to provide
expertise, insight or other assistance, and to provide and/or
develop additional mentoring sources as described below.
Coursework
TL1 doctoral students will be expected to meet all educational
and research requirements of their discipline, program, and
school. In addition, they will be expected to select and
complete a minimum of 2 courses outside the domain/area/discipline
of study. For example, a TL1 psychology student who is working
on childhood obesity could elect courses in Physiology at
the NYU School of Medicine. A medical school TL1 student
studying the biology of HIV/AIDS could take in a course in
HIV Prevention and Counseling at Steinhardt. TL1 trainees
will also take the course in Knowledge Management offered
by the NYU Health Sciences Library. These courses should
broaden the perspective, skill set and/or collaborative possibilities
of the trainee.
Mentoring
The student’s primary mentor will work with the TL1 Directors
and the student to establish a Translational Interdisciplinary
Mentoring (TIM) team. The mentoring team will meet on a regular
basis to review the trainee’s work, and will also meet
with the trainee on an ad hoc basis. Team members will
be genuine collaborators whose input will be vital for the
success of the endeavor. Members will work to ensure that students
will have appropriate access to clinical populations, existing
databases and specimen banks, and methodologic experts in study
design and coordination, biological and molecular sciences,
social and behavioral sciences, data management and statistics,
and grant-writing. The TIM plan will be managed on a case-by-case
basis such that the TL1 students have mentoring support that
is best suited to their educational needs and research interests.
Thus, although the primary mentor will oversee both the day-to-day
activities and the overall priorities of the research, each
fellow will have an opportunity to be mentored by a combination
of basic, clinical, and population scientists.
In addition to the mentoring processes described above, the TL1 Directors will oversee and coordinate each fellow’s overall program, meeting on a twice-yearly basis in order to confirm progress and identify any potential scientific or administrative roadblocks that require clearance in order to ensure the trainee’s development along a successful career track.
The TL1 Cohort
All TL1 students will meet weekly in an Integrative Seminar coordinated
by the TL1 Program Directors. This weekly meeting will provide
the opportunity for this multidisciplinary group of students
to learn, socialize, broaden horizons, and teach one another.
The content of the seminar will alternate, to include research-in-progress
sessions, journal clubs, invited scientific presentations,
and career development discussions. In addition to the TL1
Integrative Seminar, TL1 students will meet jointly with trainees
in the other TREC programs (Masters of Science in Clinical
Investigation trainees, KL2 scholars, and Physician Scientist
Training Program participants) and their mentors for a monthly TREC
Grand Rounds, and potentially for other common activities
to be developed.
Eligibility and Application Process
Advanced doctoral students will be selected from among those
studying at the NYU CTSI Partner Schools (School of Medicine,
School of Dentistry, Wagner School, School of Nursing, Steinhardt
School, Stern School, Silver School, Courant and GSAS). To
be eligible, doctoral students will have successfully completed
the equivalent of at least two years of full time coursework
in their discipline by the time that they begin to receive
TL1 funding, and be working in a field that can be informed
by trans-disciplinary paradigms that consider biopsychosocial
and translational approaches to health and healthcare. Applicants
must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents, consistent
with the policies of the National Institutes of Health regarding
this award.
Applicants will submit a set of documents including a CV,
set of personal statements and letters of support. After a
review of applications, a set of finalists will be invited
for interview.
The TL1 fellows will be selected by the Program Directors in
consultation with the TREC Executive Committee, based on (a)
potential to contribute to translational research in health
sciences, (b) the likelihood of matching the student and primary
mentor with appropriate and helpful interdisciplinary mentors,
and (c) the student’s ability to complement and contribute
to the trainee cohort.
Important Notice: Applications for 2009-2010 TL1 funding will be due by November 23, 2009. Applicants and their mentors must be prepared to accept TL1 funding for a start date of January, 2010.
