Tufts CTSI is pleased to announce the Career Development Award (KM1) Program in Comparative Effectiveness Research (CER). This program provides rigorous didactic training, mentorship, and support to highly-qualified junior faculty to conduct comparative effectiveness research for a period of 2 years. Three such awards will be made in 2011.
The program will provide scholars with 75% support for salary up to $122,000 including fringe benefits, and an additional $50,000 is available for tuition, research and travel. The home institution may provide salary support beyond this amount; although the candidate must commit a minimum of 75% of his/her time to research and education activities in comparative effectiveness research.
Awardees will leave the program being able to utilize the tools of CER to conduct systematic research comparing different interventions and strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and monitor health conditions. The research is ultimately intended to inform patients, providers, policy makers, and other decision makers about which interventions are most effective for which patients under specific circumstances.
Program start date is July 1, 2011.
Aims of the Award
The goal of the award is to 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 or should have a clear trajectory to an R series Award following two years of rigorous training. Applicants who have already had analogous training and several first-authored publications in their research area are encouraged to apply directly for external career development funding.
Through the mechanism of the KM1, Tufts CTSI seeks to further develop our expertise as a Center for Excellence in comparative effectiveness research by building CER capacity and collaboration between CER Centers Tufts CTSI-wide.
Eligibility
The Tufts CTSI Scholars Program (KM1 Award) seeks junior faculty members early in their careers who have demonstrated the aptitude and commitment to undertake multidisciplinary clinical and translational research, and have a high probability of obtaining extramural funding after the training program.
KM1 CER Scholars Must:
1. Possess a doctoral-level clinical or research degree.
2. Have a faculty appointment at the Instructor or Assistant Professor level at one of the participating Tufts-affiliated hospitals at the time of the award. Current Fellows with commitments of faculty positions at the Instructor or Assistant Professor level starting in July 2011 are eligible to apply. KM1 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.
5. Have a primary research mentor at one of the designated Tufts CER Centers (see Program Faculty and Potential Mentors), and have a primary academic affiliation at that Center.
6. Not have served as a Primary Investigator on an NIH RO1, K series, or subproject of a P or M series grant or other equivalent research grant prior to candidacy.
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 are encouraged to access the Tufts CTSI Portal for support of grant preparation. The ideal candidate for this Award will require some formal training in CER methods.
Instructions for Application
To apply, please e-mail the following application materials by February 28, 2011 to:
Venus Watson, Graduate Program and Training Manager, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, VWatson1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
Questions may be directed to David Kent, MD, MSc, Graduate Program Director, Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute, dkent1@tuftsmedicalcenter.org
Each candidate must submit a full curriculum vitae and three letters of reference (brief, 1-3 pages). One of the reference letters must be from the candidate’s department chair addressing: the candidate’s prospects for developing into an independently funded comparative effectiveness researcher; and, the Department’s assurance that at least 75% of the candidate’s time will be protected for research career development and other activities associated with his/her role as a KM1 Scholar.
In addition to the candidate’s full curriculum vitae and three letters of reference, a complete application must include: a research plan; description of candidate’s career goals, research interest, and plans; a career development plan; mentorship plan; and, a 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.
1. Research Plan (3 pages). 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 during the two-year program. The candidate should describe how their research project will leverage and enhance CER at Tufts.
2. Description of candidate’s career goals, research interest and plans. Candidates should propose a career development plan. To gain the knowledge and skills necessary to function effectively on interdisciplinary research teams, Tufts CTSI KM1 CER 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 (CTS). Candidates who enter the program having already completed a Master’s research degree (e.g., a Master’s degree in clinical research or equivalent) will specify selected coursework to enhance their research and career development needs, which may include completion of a PhD in CTS.
3. Mentorship Plan. Applicants must have a primary mentor with a track record of funded CER. A list of eligible faculty is included at the end of this announcement. In addition, the research should be based within one of the Tufts Centers of CER listed below.
4. 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 sustaining independence at the program’s end. 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 of 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.
Review Criteria
The Tufts KM1 selection committee will choose 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 goals and objectives of the Tufts CTSI to build CER capacity
The proposed research should build on the methods and capacity of the following Centers of Comparative Effectiveness Research across Tufts CTSI: Center for Cardiovascular Health Services Research; Center for Clinical Evidence Synthesis; Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk, Division of Clinical Decision Making, Informatics, and Telemedicine; The Health Institute; The Tufts Center for Kidney Disease Guideline Development and Implementation; Center for Quality of Care Research (CQCR) at Baystate Medical Center.
Program Faculty and Potential Mentors
S. Nassir Ghaemi MD, MPH, is a Professor of Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine, a Clinical Investigator in the Institute for Clinical Research and Health Policy Studies (ICRHPS) as well as Director of the Mood Disorders Program at Tufts Medical Center.
John L. Griffith, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of Clinical and Translational Science (CTS) at Tufts CTSI, and Associate Director of Tufts CTSI and Director of the CTSI Research and Design Center (RDC).
David M. Kent, MD, MSc, KM1 Program Co-Director, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI, and Director of the Tufts University Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences MS/PhD Program in CTS.
Joseph Lau, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI, Director of the Center for Clinical Evidence Synthesis (CCES) and Director of the AHRQ Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) at Tufts Medical Center.
Debra Lerner, MS, PhD, is a Senior Scientist within The Health Institute of the ICRHPS and Director of the ICRHPS Program on Health, Work and Productivity at Tufts Medical Center. She is also a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI.
Andrew S. Levey, MD, is the Dr. Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and, Chief, William B. Schwartz, MD, Division of Nephrology, Tufts Medical Center.
Laurel K. Leslie, MD, MPH, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at Tufts University School of Medicine, Associate Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI and Director of the Program for Aligning Researchers and Communities for Health (ARCH) within Tufts CTSI.
Peter K. Lindenauer, MD, MSc, is the Director of the Center for Quality of Care Research (CQCR) at Baystate Medical Center, Medical Director of Clinical Decision Support and Quality Informatics for Baystate Health, and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine.
Timothy McAlindon MD, MPH, is a Professor of Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine, the Natalie V. Zucker and Milton O. Zucker Professor of Rheumatology and Immunology, and Chief of the Division of Rheumatology at Tufts Medical Center.
Peter J. Neumann, ScD, is the Director of the Center for the Evaluation of Value and Risk in Health at the ICRHPS at Tufts Medical Center, a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine and a Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI.
Susan K. Parsons, MD, MRP, is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, a Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI, and is the Director of The Health Institute within the ICRHPS at Tufts Medical Center.
Stephen G. Pauker, MD, MACP, FACC, ABMH, is a Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry at Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medical Center, and a Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI.
Anastassios Pittas, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, and an Endocrinologist in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism at Tufts Medical Center.
Michael Rothberg, MD, MS, is an Associate Professor of Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Baystate Medical Center.
Mark Sarnak, MD, MS, is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and the Director of Research in the Division of Nephrology at Tufts Medical Center.
Christopher H. Schmid, PhD, is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, a Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI, and is the Director of the Biostatistics Research Center in the ICRHPS at Tufts Medical Center as well as the Associate Director of the Tufts University Sackler School of Graduate Biomedical Sciences MS/PhD Program in CTS.
Harry Selker MD, MSPH, KM1 Program Co-Director, is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, a Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI, the Dean of Tufts CTSI, and the Executive Director of ICRHPS, Tufts Medical Center.
Thomas A. Trikalinos, MD, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the AHRQ designated Tufts Evidence-based Practice Center at the ICRHPS, Tufts Medical Center.
Katrin Uhlig, MD, MS, is the Director of Guideline Development at the Tufts Center for Kidney Disease Guideline Development and Implementation, and Staff Nephrologist at Tufts Medical Center.
John B. Wong, MD, is a Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, a Professor of CTS at Tufts CTSI, and Chief, Division of Clinical Decision Making, Tufts Medical Center.
