CTSA K12 Program at Wake Forest - Project Summary/Abstract
The Wake Forest (WF) Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) joined the CTSA consortium in 2015
with the goal of catalyzing our health system’s transformation into an exemplary Learning Health System (LHS).
Since then, we have extended this LHS framework by integrating traditional academic goals of T0-T4 translation,
scholarship, and education while also promoting health equity and the vitality of the communities we serve. We
call this evolved vision the Academic Learning Health System (aLHS). Achieving this vision requires scientists
with a deep understanding of the translational science process that moves from data to evidence to practice and
policy in a continuous cycle. To develop this critical workforce, the CTSI K12 Program will provide a rigorous
training program for an outstanding, diverse, carefully selected early-career faculty that develops expertise in
eight LHS science competency domains identified by the AHRQ/PCORI LHS Learning Collaborative. These
competencies support the traits of translational scientists as outlined by the international Translation Together
collaborative. The K12 Program builds on our highly successful KL2 Program, which to date has trained 28
translational scientists who received 55 subsequently funded awards and published 539 manuscripts; many of
them have advanced to become leaders in our CTSI. We will retain those training elements proven to be highly
effective and add new initiatives in response to rigorous programmatic evaluations. Our growing healthcare
system serves nearly 6 million patients in 1,167 sites of care, offering an ideal laboratory for K12 Scholars to
work across the full translational spectrum, from pre-clinical discoveries to testing clinical interventions to
implementation. Notably, WF serves as the academic core of this new health system, and our aLHS serves as
a guiding framework for advancing care delivery throughout the system. To develop the critical workforce and
create a pipeline of highly trained translational scientists needed for the aLHS, the CTSI K12 Program has four
objectives: 1) Support a highly effective faculty development core that integrates CTSA network initiatives; 2)
Identify and recruit promising K12 Scholars using a rigorous process that recognizes diversity in all of its
dimensions; 3) Nurture the development of translational scientists through a curriculum that includes individual
development plans and recognizes the importance of team science and evidence-based mentorship; 4) Expand
our novel online learning management system, the Learning Translational Research Education Enhancement
(Learning TREE) tool, to connect individuals at all levels of training with outstanding educational resources. This
Program will build cohorts of six Scholars (four NCATS-supported and two supported by institutional funds), at
the early career faculty level. Scholars will be appointed for two years and eligible to receive an additional two
years of salary support through our WF early career K awardee salary support program.
