Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative of Northern Ohio, CTSA K12 Program at Case Western Reserve University - The K12 proposed by the Clinical and Translational Research Collaborative of Northern Ohio is an innovative, flexible program to prepare a highly skilled cohort in clinical and translational (C/T) research to address the lack of optimal management strategies for hundreds of diseases and conditions and for unique approaches across the entire population, including special and vulnerable populations of all ages. The K12 seeks support for an educational curriculum designed to meet the individual needs of emerging investigators across all disciplines, with an emphasis on addressing differences in health outcomes, expanding participation across disciplines, and improving alignment of candidate backgrounds with C/T research objectives. This program is designed to adapt to the individual needs of each scholar and to address the unmet educational and career development needs of clinical research scholars in the rapidly evolving field of C/T science, with a focus on examining variations in health outcomes across population groups. Unmet needs will be addressed by educating leaders in multidisciplinary clinical and translational research; introducing clinical research education earlier in the life cycle of scholars from varied academic disciplines (nursing, bioinformatics, social work, pharmacology, etc.); tailoring programs to the preferences, special interests, research plans, strengths, and weaknesses of each scholar with appropriate modifications; and setting the standards and developing innovative approaches to C/T career development. The program builds on lessons learned from prior experience in operating a highly successful KL2 program, proven strategies from published national studies on mentorship, collaboration with other CTSA Hub KL2 sites, new and innovative programs to re-enforce the strengths of scholars in a broad and deep spectrum of capabilities, and a robust education and career development program that utilizes all resources within the CTSC and synergizes with the post-doctoral T32 and the UM1's Workforce Development Module. The K12 Career Development program aims to 1) further enrich and expand our integrated CTSC- wide innovative and individually tailored K12 program, 2) prepare the next generation of investigators with the multidisciplinary skills required to lead cutting-edge C/T research and meet the opportunities and challenges of medicine in the 21st Century, and 3) build the multidisciplinary workforce of the future. This innovative K12 program focuses on addressing each scholar's individual gaps in knowledge and skill. The program will benefit from a cross-institutional, cross-disciplinary C/T research career development program, which, in turn, derived from the successful introduction of the Roadmap K12 multidisciplinary C/T research program launched in 2004. As the program evolved, best practices were kept from earlier iterations, scholar feedback was incorporated, available institutional resources carefully considered, and attention paid to desired outcomes (what was accomplished and who was reached). Results (short, intermediate and long term) and overall impact of the entire program will be measured and shared through publications and presentations, with specific measures to determine the impact on health outcomes.
