CTSI KL2 Career Development Awards

CTSI KL2 Career Development Awards

About the Program

The KL2 Career Development Award provides junior faculty with financial support and research training to develop the skills necessary to build a well-funded, collaborative career in clinical and translational research.

Qualified faculty at the rank of assistant professor with an MD, PhD, or equivalent degree in the health sciences and who are U.S. Citizens or have Permanent Resident (Green Card) status are encouraged to apply. The CTSI welcomes applicants from any of the UF Health Science Center’s six colleges.

For questions, please contact Mary Gipson the Office of Biomedical Research Career Development.

KL2 Timeline

KL2 RFA released – October 12, 2022

KL2 Application Deadline – December 14, 2022

KL2 Interview – February 14, 2023

Notice of Awards – April 1, 2023

Current CTSI Scholars

Upcoming events and information sessions

Watch this recorded information session to learn more about the program.

Eligibility

Applicants to the CTSI KL2 program must:

1. Be a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident, as this is required by the CTSI KL2 support mechanism
2. Have a clinical doctorate (M.D., DMD, DVM, PharmD, etc.) or Ph.D. degree or its equivalent in health sciences
3. Have department and division guarantee of 75 percent of full-time professional effort dedicated for program participation and for related clinical research activities. May be negotiable to a minimum of 50 percent effort/ salary support for selected situations, such as clinicians with substantial clinical technical roles who require maintenance of clinical and technical proficiency.
4. Propose a research project that is clinical/ translational and multidisciplinary in nature, is relevant to human health and will lead to results suitable to serve as the foundation for a successful research grant application
5. Hold a UF or FSU faculty position as an assistant professor at the time of the anticipated start of the award.
6. Identify established, funded mentors who have the interest and time to provide guidance and research expertise for the planned project
   • Each applicant must choose a lead mentor and one or more co-mentor(s)
   • At least one mentor from each of two different disciplines
7. Possess strong academic credentials and good communication skills
8. Have a strong interest in developing a career in multidisciplinary clinical or translational research
9. Not be or have been a principal investigator on an NIH-funded R01, R29 or a subproject of a Program Project (P01) grant, Center (P50, P60, U54) grant, mentored career development (K-series) grant, or other equivalent research grant award (including national career development awards that provide both annual salary support and research funds, such as the AHA Scientist Development Grant).
   • Note: R03 and R21 awardees are eligible to apply.
10. Have the ability to commit to full participation in all requirements of the training program, including the intensive Summer B course, GMS 7093, Introduction to Clinical & Translational Research, held in the summer for 11 consecutive days, typically in mid-July

Requirements

Research Project

CTSI KL2 Scholars are expected to conduct an independent research project that is clinical or translational in nature and designed to be completed well within the two years of program participation. The project must be clearly clinical/ translational in nature (see Definitions below). This project is expected to result in sufficient pilot findings that will permit the submission of a multidisciplinary R01 grant (or equivalent) by the second year of program participation. The project needs to take advantage of CTSI resources and cores.

Mentorship

Each applicant must choose a lead mentor and one or more co-mentor(s). At least one mentor from each of two different disciplines will be required. The mentors will facilitate and promote their scholar’s research and interactions with other CTSI trainees. They will also ensure that the CTSI KL2 Scholar has the appropriate amount of guaranteed dedicated time and has access to adequate resources to conduct his/ her CTS project. If the applicant is accepted, a member of the KL2 Advisory Committee will be assigned to the scholar’s mentor team.

The primary mentor is required to have a solid track record of extramural funding. The primary mentor and any additional mentors should have expertise in the area(s) of proposed CTSI KL2 research.

Each CTSI KL2 Scholar must develop a mentoring plan outlining specific benchmarks, including timelines for completion of the research project, meeting presentations, publications and grant applications, and planned didactic courses or degree programs. The mentoring plan will be discussed and approved by the mentoring team with the KL2 Advisory Committee providing final approval.

Training Plan

CTSI KL2 Scholars are expected to have a training plan with a two-year timeline that includes specific courses (certificate or degree if appropriate); indicates any off-site training proposed (skills development); and includes Good Clinical Practice training (CITI or ACRP).

Individual Development Plan (IDP)

CTSI KL2 Scholars must have an Individual Development Plan (IDP) that includes the following elements: self assessment; short-term career goals (1 year) in terms of desired skills/competencies, how to accomplish (specific training), resources needed and how will achievement be measured; and long-range career goals (2-4 years; same elements as for short-term career goals). Suggested IDP resource: myidp.sciencecareers.org

Scholar Expectations

CTSI KL2 Scholars must adhere to the directives outlined in the mentoring plan, training plan, IDP and progress reports; conduct solid pilot research; complete semi-annual progress reports describing the specific activities and accomplishments and whether the benchmarks have been reached; participate in the annual UF CTSI Research Day; present their research at the national CTSA Translational Research meeting each spring; and complete a suitable training plan including GCP training. CTSI KL2 Scholars will be contacted annually for a minimum of 10 years after completing the program to assess career progress.

Departmental Support

The scholar’s department must agree to the following:

1. Scholar will spend 75% of his/ her FTE on CTSI KL2 didactics, research and other CTSI KL2 Scholar activities
2. This 75% of FTE is based on the scholar’s workweek schedule at time of entry into the program
3. Any changes to the scholar’s schedule that could infringe upon this 75% time must be discussed with the CTSI KL2 directorship

Selection process

Scholars are selected for support based on a competitive review process in which academic qualifications, career goals, and the quality of the training environment will be important considerations for funding. Finalists are interviewed by members of the KL2 Advisory Committee.

• Track Record: Creativity of the candidate and potential to lead excellent multidisciplinary research judging by track record in some or all of the following: areas of expertise and prior training; number of first- or senior-author publications; funded grants; written product attached to the application.
• Research Plan: Scientific value, potential clinical importance, and feasibility of the written multidisciplinary research plan. Likelihood of the research project to result in a larger independently funded peer-reviewed grant. Utilization of CTSI cores and resources.
• Mentors: Quality, appropriateness, track record of previous trainees, record of research funding (NIH or equivalent funding is preferred) and multidisciplinary expertise of the proposed mentor(s).
• Training Plan: Feasible, timeline, appropriate.
• IDP: Evidence of mentor input, appropriate, feasible, thoughtful.
• Resources: Tangible commitment and resources provided by the home department, and suitability of the available clinical and laboratory infrastructure and multidisciplinary team.
• Career Potential: Global assessment of the likelihood that the candidate will develop a career as an outstanding investigator who will lead multidisciplinary teams and have an important impact on health.
• Departmental Support: Clear commitment from the candidate’s department to respect the candidate’s effort in the program and value the candidate’s career as a clinical/ translational researcher.

Application

We will be offering an application “preview” (December 1-8) submit to (Mary Gipson) . Final Applications must submitted electronically (Mary Gipson) by 5:00 pm on December 14, 2022 in order for your application to be considered.  We will acknowledge receipt of all electronic documents by email to you.

Application packets must include the following:

• Application Face Page
• Table of Contents
• Candidate’s CV
• Candidate Statement (up to 2 pages, include specified components)
• Research Plan (up to 5 pages)
• Individual Development Plan
• Training Plan
• Mentoring Plan
• Mentors’ Letters
• NIH Biosketches and Mentee Tables
• Chair (required) and Chief (if applicable) Letters of Support
• Example of Written Product by the Candidate
• Statement verifying US Citizenship or Permanent Resident (Green Card) Status
• Email completed applications as a single PDF file (<4MB) to mary.gipson@ufl.edu

Contact

For questions, please contact Susan Gardner in the Office of Biomedical Research Career Development.

• mary.gipson@ufl.edu
• (352) 294-8340

Definitions

1. Clinical Research: Patient-oriented research, including epidemiologic and behavioral studies, outcomes research, and health services research. Patient-oriented research is research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) in which a researcher directly interacts with human subjects. It includes research on mechanisms of human disease, therapeutic interventions, clinical trials, and development of new technologies, but does not include in vitro studies using human tissues not linked to a living individual. Studies falling under 45 CFR 46.101(b) (4) are not considered clinical research for purposes of this definition. (Source: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/glossary.htm)
2. Translational Research: Translational research includes two areas of translation. One is the process of applying discoveries generated during research in the laboratory, and in preclinical studies, to the development of trials and studies in humans. The second area of translation concerns research aimed at enhancing the adoption of best practices in the community. Cost-effectiveness of prevention and treatment strategies is also an important part of translational science. (Source: http://grants.nih.gov/grants/glossary.htm)
3. Permanent Resident: Someone who has been granted authorization to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. As proof of that status, a person is granted a permanent resident card, commonly called a “green card.” (Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security)