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Research Education, Training, and Career Development (RETCD) Overview and Objectives. Long-term translational and clinical research success will depend upon the ability to give future researchers and interdisciplinary research teams a strong background in clinical and translational science. Therefore, research education programs must prepare individuals from across the full spectrum of health professions and research disciplines to meet the growing demand and to create the research workforce that will conduct integrated approaches for study at all levels (T1, T2, T3) of clinical and translational science. The mission of the Delaware Valley Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (DVICTS) emphasizes the issue of training the next generation of clinical and translational science health-related professionals. This unit -- on research education, training, and career development (DVR-RET) -- focusses on training at all DVICTS partner institutions, as well as the educational and career development opportunities that will be available to carefully targeted members of the clinical and healthcare support communities served by all the DVICTS partner institutions. The DVICTS institutions are uniquely positioned to develop, implement, and promote innovative and transformational programs at all levels of health profession and research training, to further the development of successful translational research teams, and to inform the scientific community about collaborative educational approaches to research training. This section specifically addresses objective 1 of the DVICTS proposal: to train the next generation of healthcare-related professionals in clinical and translational research. The research education provided will also directly impact overarching grant objectives 2 and 3 by providing the integrating framework, infrastructure, and relationships for the development of novel research programs for translating new discoveries in clinical and population health. This comprehensive education plan will result in a broad-based and far-reaching approach to educating the clinical and translational science workforce of tomorrow. Recognizing that most Americans have and will continue to receive most of their healthcare through local primary care practices, DVICTS is dedicated to ensuring that tomorrow's research workforce will be far better prepared to bring the lessons of clinical practice and communities directly to the bench, and to work with community practitioners and community members to speed translation of new discoveries into routine practice. The DVICTS research enterprise, faculty, and community partners will provide a unique laboratory, ensuring opportunities in innovative multidisciplinary, team-based T1 research, through T2 clinical trials reaching diverse populations, including those traditionally considered underserved, and ultimately to interprofessional, community-based T3 projects which will directly impact the health of the State of Delaware and the Delaware Valley. The 4 DVICTS partner institutions have long-standing affiliations and exciting evolving collaborations for educating healthcare professionals and researchers in the Delaware Valley. DVICTS partners have formal articulation agreements and long-standing educational partnerships in place, which provide a ready platform from which to launch transformative clinical and translational science programs. From undergraduate and graduate programs for health professions and science education at the University of Delaware (UD), to training in medical science and health professions at Thomas Jefferson University (TJU), to practical clinical science and clinical experiences at Christiana Care Health System (CCHS), Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital for Children (AIDHC/Nemours), and Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals (TJUH), we have a sound foundation for collaborative clinical and translational research education programs. Signature programs provide the foundation for this proposal. The nationally recognized Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), Department of Defense, and Beckman Foundation have funded undergraduate research programs at UD; The UD/TJU Medical Scholars program provides select UD sophomores with enriched curricula and preferred admission to Jefferson Medical College (JMC). The HRSA funded Physician Shortage Area Program (PSAP), has identified rural Pennsylvania residents for admission to JMC, with a commitment to practice primary care in underserved areas of Pennsylvania for 35 years, and, capitalizing on JMC's role as the medical school for the State of Delaware, has recently been expanded to Delaware residents to develop primary care physicians for underserved areas of Delaware. The AIDHC/Nemours serves as the pediatric department for TJU, and provides clinical training for Jefferson students and research training for UD undergraduate and graduate students. UD has developed innovative MS and PhD programs which encourage UD graduate students to obtain training in translational research laboratories based at Nemours/AIDHC and CCHS. A recently developed cooperative agreement has been implemented for combining a BS in Biological Sciences, Pharmaceutical Sciences concentration (UD) with subsequent PharmD training in the Jefferson School of Pharmacy (JSP) at TJU. CCHS is TJU's largest clinical affiliate, providing outstanding clinical training to hundreds of JMC students annually. The Eastern Pennsylvania-Delaware Geriatric Education Center, a regional collaborative including TJU and CCHS, with UD representation on the steering committee, has developed innovative, inter-professional, Web-based geriatric curricula and a 1-year, mentored, inter-professional team faculty development fellowship. The Jefferson InterProfessional Education Center (JCIPE) sponsors the Health Mentors Program, the only required, 2-year, longitudinal, inter-professional, team-based, patient-centered curriculum nationally, training all Jefferson medical, occupational therapy, physical therapy, couples and family therapy, and traditional baccalaureate nursing students; inter-professional teams of students are partnered with a person with 1 or more chronic conditions (the health mentor) to complete a series of activities addressing team-based care of chronic illness, patient safety, and wellness. The HRSA grant to the JMC Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM/TJU) supports a collaboration with the TJUH Office to Advance Population Health (OAPH) to establish the Jefferson Center for Urban Health, in addition to developing integrated primary care and community health relationships for service-learning experiences. Furthermore, the recent creation of the Jefferson School of Population Health (JSPH), with masters programs in public health, health policy, healthcare quality and safety (2009), and chronic disease management (planned, 2010) provides a truly innovative educational and research platform, particularly for T3 translational research education. Through this CTSA, DVICTS will specifically support the interactive and complementary development of clinical and translational science education and research at all DVICTS partner institutions and throughout the region. We will create a comprehensive program of translational research education at all levels and across all of our diverse training venues. In addition, DVICTS will partner with other regional healthcare institutions and educational institutions, including 3 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) -- Cheyney University (CU) and Lincoln University (LU) in Pennsylvania and Delaware State University (DSU) in Delaware -- to provide specific opportunities for translational science education and research for under-represented minority students and faculty. DVICTS has already built the foundation for these partnerships: UD, through the HHMI education grant and the Department of Defense minority grant, has successfully recruited students from DSU and LU into science programs and careers; and TJU, under a current grant from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for building a Center of Excellence in Obesity, has established educational programs with CU that include TJU faculty teaching at CU, science experiences for CU students to work with faculty at TJU, and student support for science careers. As evidence of success, four of the 8 graduated minority students involved in this program are currently enrolled in post-baccalaureate studies. This proposal will transform research education and training currently in place in multiple settings at 4 institutions into a larger, integrated, and cohesive framework. Furthermore, DVICTS will significantly influence research education and training in all related disciplines to comprehensively address the future needs of the Delaware Valley region by building a research workforce that is prepared to contribute to translational science research at all levels (T1, T2, T3). These activities will lead to the development of a collaborative, team-oriented workforce that will enhance the formation and implementation of interprofessional research projects that will transform research in the region to increasingly reach our clinical populations and communities. The DVR-RET initiative promotes the overarching DVICTS goal of supporting the development of a cadre of highly skilled research professionals and clinicians who will collaborate with individuals, practices, and communities to improve the health of the State of Delaware and Delaware Valley Region. Specific objectives for the DVR-RET initiative include:
Innovations: Traditional training programs do not provide sufficient exposure to the new discipline of clinical and translational science that future clinicians and researchers need to achieve their potential. Clinicians will need to rapidly incorporate new knowledge into practice and meet the mandates of the Institute of Medicine and others to achieve high quality, efficient healthcare for all Americans. Health science researchers of all disciplines will need to understand the bench-to-bedside to community implications of their work, as well as having excellent teamwork skills and recognize the unique contributions of colleagues from a variety of disciplines to move their research forward rapidly and with maximum impact on the health of individuals and populations. Creating an integrated research and education network among 4 major institutions, including 2 degree-granting institutions, will provide a national model for maximizing assets to increase the pool of healthcare professionals with clinical translational training that will speed the incorporation of new science into clinical care and population health. Developing a core curriculum of breadth in research training, with emphasis for each training program and a centralized Web-based library of educational resources, curriculum, and evaluation tools will provide a unique national resource to disseminate and share effective clinical and translational science curriculum. Offering clinical translational research opportunities to undergraduates will broaden and strengthen the pool of academically strong trainees and shorten the period of formal post-baccalaureate training in translation research. The transprofessional master's degree program will combine the efforts of 3 schools (UD, TJU's College of Graduate Studies, and TJU's School of Population Health) to prepare trainees for all levels of translational research with unique offerings in healthcare quality and safety, health policy, and chronic disease management. The K12 translational research training will be integrated with other training programs to enhance the development of research teams around key translational research topics, and mentorship will include collaborative interdisciplinary approaches to translational research. The collaboration with regional HBCUs will establish important pipelines for clinical and translational science training for underrepresented minority students, and, at the same time, it will serve as a model curriculum and faculty development resource for HBCU faculty (who will receive enhanced research education) and DVICTS faculty from other institutions (who will benefit from enhanced working relationships with HBCU faculty). Moreover, the clinical and translational science workforce developed through this CTSA grant and the DVR-RET traning programs will greatly enhance the ability to bring scientific discovery and benefit to clinical populations and communities in the state of Delaware and the broader Delaware Valley region. Structure and Functions. The DVR-RET initiatives will be coordinated by the Delaware Valley Resources for Research Education and Training (DVR-RET) group. Organization. There are 4 categories of research education, training, and career development activities that will be associated with the DVR-RET initiative: (a) a professional science master's degree in clinical and translational sciences (PSM); (b) A K12 research program for health science professionals; (c) adoption of minimum competencies and associated curriculum integrated, ultimately, into all DVICTS clinical and health science education programs, to ensure fundamental principles of clinical and translational science inform the clinical practice and research activities of every graduate, and (d) an educational program for the training of undergraduates from majority and HBCU institutions in clinical translational research, including research training for HBCU faculty and HBCU faculty inclusion in program and curriculum development. These programs will be integrated and administered centrally by 2 co-directors of the DVR-RET, who will chair a Clinical and Translational Science Education Steering Committee and who will report to the DVICTS Internal Advisory Board. The co-directors and the DVICTS Internal Advisory Board will also be responsible for oversight of research education section evaluation and its coordination with overall grant evaluation. The Steering Committee will include the chairpersons of subcommittees for each training activity, namely the chair of the K12 Executive Committee, the chair of the Masters/PSM Graduate Program Subcommittee, the chair of the Translational Research Curriculum Subcommittee, and the chair of the Undergraduate Education Program Subcommittee. The leadership team responsible for implementing the novel clinical and translational science programs described is well qualified to ensure success. Dr. Duncan, the UD Graduate Program director for Biological Sciences, has a track record of success in T1 research funded by NIH and has developed professional master's training programs at UD. Dr. Rosenthal, vice-chair of Academic Programs and Research in the DFCM of JMC/TJU, is a leader in education at the medical school, residency, and continuing education levels; he also has significant primary care practice (T2) and community-based research experience (T3). Dr. Usher, associate chair of the UD Biology Department, is active in T1 research and has co-led a nationally recognized Howard Hughes Institute of Medicine program to educate UD undergraduates, particularly those of underrepresented minorities, into research careers, and has been funded to develop educational programs by NIH (R25), the Department of Defense, and the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Dr. Arenson is co-director of the Jefferson InterProfessional Education Center and has oversight for campus-wide interprofessional education at TJU and TJUH, as well as directing the Eastern Pennsylvania-Delaware Geriatric Education Center, a federally funded (HRSA), collaborative, interdisciplinary education program including TJU and CCHS as major partners. Dr. Beck is assistant dean, TJU College of Graduate Studies and assistant professor, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Therap eutics, TJU. She directs the medical school pharmacology course, is program director and academic advisor for the part-time MS Pharmacology program, and brings experience with course design and implementation in professional and graduate school settings. Dr. Binder-Macleod is the Edward L. Ratledge Professor and Chairman of the nationally recognized Physical Therapy Department at UD and director of a novel and highly successful K12 program training physical therapists at 3 different institutions. |