Education & Career Development

Tufts CTSI is pleased to announce the Career Development Award Program KL2 for highly-qualified junior faculty to conduct multidisciplinary clinical/patient-oriented research for a period of 2 years. This program is specifically designed to further the goals of Tufts CTSI, linking across Tufts affiliated hospitals/campuses and across disciplines.

The Tufts CTSI Career Development Award aims to:

• Enhance the links between the Tufts affiliated hospitals and the Tufts Sackler Program in Clinical and Translational Science. The ideal candidate will have mentors at least at two sites in Tufts CTSI, including one at an affiliated hospital.
• Prepare junior faculty to compete for external funding in the form of a K series Award. The ideal candidate will have a clear trajectory to a K award following two years of rigorous training. Applicants who have already had analogous training and/or several first-authored publications in their research area are encouraged to apply directly for external career development funding, or should have a clear trajectory to an R series Award at the end of two years.
• The Tufts CTSI Career Development Award is designed to encourage multidisciplinary research, and bridge the translational gaps.

The Tufts CTSI Scholars Program seeks junior faculty members early in their career who have demonstrated the aptitude and commitment to clinical and translational science, and have a high probability of obtaining extramural funding after the training program. Applicants must have an appointment at the time of the award at a Tufts affiliated hospital and must be able to devote 75% professional effort to the program for two years. The program will provide scholars with 75% support for a salary up to $114,000 including fringe benefits, plus $29,664 for tuition, travel and supplies.  Additional salary support beyond $114,000 can be provided by the home institution, although the candidate must commit a minimum of 75% of his/her time to research and education activities. Two such awards will be granted over the next four years. Affiliated hospitals will nominate one applicant for each round.  Applications for the first round are due on February 15, 2011. Selection of these candidates will be performed by the Education Advisory Committee of the Tufts CTSI. 

The program begins July 1, 2011.

Applicants Must:

1. Possess a doctoral-level clinical degree.
2. Have a faculty appointment at the Instructor or Assistant Professor level at one of the participating Tufts-affiliated hospitals.  Current fellows with commitments of faculty positions at the Instructor or Assistant Professor level starting in July 2011 are eligible to apply. KL2 funds cannot be used during fellowship training.
3. Be a U.S. citizen, non-citizen national, or permanent resident.
4. Be able to devote 75% professional effort to the program for a minimum of two years (surgeons may request a lower level of effort, but not less than 50%).
5. Have the support of two mentors approved by the program, based in two different Tufts-affiliated institutions
6. Not have served as Principal Investigator on an NIH R01, K series, or subproject of a P or M series grant or other equivalent research grant prior to candidacy.
7. Faculty with primary appointments at Tufts Medical Center will not be considered in this current round of applications (prior KL2 recipient is a TMC faculty member).

Additional Eligibility Information:

While a track record of academic productivity is viewed favorably, individuals who already have formal research training and who have several first-author publications related to their main research interest are encouraged to apply directly to the NIH for K series or R series awards and encouraged to access Tufts CTSI services for support of grant preparation.

Instructions for Application

Each affiliated hospital is expected to nominate one candidate. An appointed KL2 selection committee, composed of the academic leadership of Tufts affiliated hospitals, will chose from among the candidates based on the following criteria: 1) Quality of the candidate; 2) Quality of the Research Plan; 3) Quality of the Career Development and Mentorship Plan; 4) Plan for Research Funding; 5) Consistency of Research with the Goals and Objectives of Tufts CTSI.

To apply, please e-mail application materials by February 15, 2011 to:

Venus Watson, Graduate Program and Training Manager, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, VWatson1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org

Questions may be directed to David Kent, MD, MSc, Graduate Program Director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute, dkent1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org

Along with the applicant’s Curriculum Vitae, 3 letters of reference, including one from the applicant’s department chair, and letters of support from the mentors, the application should include the following elements:

1. Research Plan (3 pages).  The KL2 Committee strongly encourages multidisciplinary research consistent with the articulated goals of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) roadmap, Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs) and Tufts CTSI.  Research plans that best leverage the resources and unique strengths of Tufts CTSI will be favorably considered.  While the feasibility of research will be considered, it is expected that the research plan may not be fully specified, since full specification of the research plan is expected to occur during the two-year program.
2. Description of Candidate’s Career Goals, Research Interest and Plans
3. Career Development Plan: To gain the knowledge and skills necessary to function effectively on interdisciplinary research teams, Tufts CTSI Scholars will complete a rigorous training program that ensures exposure to a wide range of clinical and translational research methods. All candidates who enter the program without a research Master's degree are required to complete the Sackler MS in Clinical and Translational Science. Candidates who enter the program having already completed a research Master's degree (e.g., a Master's degree in clinical research or equivalent) will specify selected coursework to enhance their research and career development needs. Faculty no longer requiring formal career development/research training are not appropriate applicants for this award.
4. Mentorship Plan: The mentorship team should include faculty members at more than one Tufts site.  Typically, this will involve mentors at the applicant’s home hospital and at Tufts Sackler Clinical and Translational Science Program. If the applicant is from Tufts Medical Center mentorship/collaborative links with at least one of the other affiliated hospitals is strongly encouraged.
5. Plan for Future Funding: Because the two-year award is insufficient time to complete major research projects leading to independence, the applicant should provide a plan for independence at the end of the two years. Thus, it is expected that the two-year period culminates in both completed research leading to a publishable manuscript (which will serve as the candidates thesis for those in the MS program), and an application for a K series or R series award suitable for submission shortly after completion of the program. All applications should include a specific plan for future funding.

These five sections should not exceed five pages in total (1 inch margins, 11 pt font, single spaced), exclusive of bibliography and references, 3 pages of which should be devoted to the Research Plan.