Summary
The goal of the UAMS K12 program is to build a diverse cohort of successful translational scientists that
enable the mission of the UAMS Translational Research Institute (TRI) to “develop and test translational
science innovations that will drive real world solutions to enhance health equity for rural and underrepresented
populations. This proposed program emphasizes gaining experience and expertise in Translational Science
through interdisciplinary training opportunities, mentored research projects, individualized training, and
education of mentors. The program aims to develop scholars that will be productive, funded and generate
meaningful results for rural and underserved populations. Mentored research projects will be able to leverage
unique resources in Implementation Science, Community and Stakeholder Engagement, Informatics, and
Telehealth that are available through our TRI. The program plan includes training in the seven foundational
knowledge, skills, and abilities of a Translational Scientist: Domain Expert, Boundary Crosser, Team Player,
Process Innovator, Skilled Communicator, Systems Thinker and Rigorous Researcher. The K12 program
includes a robust plan for evaluation to assess and improve its effectiveness in producing translational
scientists with careers that yield Health and Societal Benefits. To enhance the evaluation, we are participating
in a CTSA collaborative group developing competency-based assessment tools. The K12 program includes a
robust plan for recruitment and retention to enhance diversity. The proposed K12 builds on the success of our
current KL2 program. Since 2019, we have trained 22 productive scholars, 14 of which are still in the program,
who already have received five NIH grants as PI and published 124 manuscripts. The 22 scholars include 59%
women, 18% URM and an additional 14% from NIH-defined disadvantaged backgrounds, thus demonstrating
our ability to recruit diverse scholars. Current research projects involve populations across the lifespan, and
more than half specifically involve rural and underserved populations. The K12 program leverages the
strengths of our collaborating partners by utilizing the geographic reach across Arkansas of the Central
Arkansas Veterans Healthcare System (CAVHS) and Arkansas Children's Hospital/Arkansas Children’s
Research Institute (ACH/ACRI), incorporating the unique resources of the Partners, and receiving support for
Partner Scholars. The two partnering organizations along with the Winthrop P Rockefeller Cancer Institute and
the College of Medicine have enabled us to support 16 additional scholars over the first four years of the
current funding period. In summary, our proposed K12 program will leverage the unique resources available
through the TRI to produce a successful and diverse cohort of investigators that will produce Health and
Societal Benefits for rural and underserved populations.