28 Oct New Translational Research Scholars Program Targets Promising Early-Stage Investigators
The Institute of Translational Health Sciences announced today the launch of the TRSP, a new career-development program for promising early-stage investigators. This program offers two years of high-quality, targeted, and structured career development for investigators from across the five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho) region. The program includes components such as research funding of up to $15,000, mentoring, peer-to-peer networking, grant writing workshops, and mock grant review services.
“The goal of the TRSP is to increase the number of early-stage investigators who successfully obtain K- or R-series funding from the NIH,” shared Dr. Cathryn Booth-LaForce, ITHS Senior Faculty Director and the Charles and Gerda Spence Professor of Nursing at the University of Washington. “It continues to be quite challenging to obtain NIH funding, particularly for junior investigators, which is where we believe the mentoring and other program components of the TRSP can really make a difference.”
The application deadline for the first cohort of the TRSP is February 2, 2015. Early-stage investigators from WWAMI-region institutions and universities with projects relevant to clinical and/or translational science are encouraged to apply. These investigators must have a publication track record and need to secure a nomination from their department chair, dean, or equivalent. Minimum time commitments exist for Rising Stars, meaning departments must also be able to provide release time to investigators who are selected for the program. Once selected, the initial cohort will begin the program in June, 2015.
“By providing this structure and support, we hope to promote long-term retention of these scholars in translational research,” concluded Dr. Booth-LaForce.
