J. NRSA Training Core

The NRSA Training Core (TL1 Core) is a critical educational component of the Georgia Clinical & Translational Science Alliance (Georgia CTSA) which represents a collaboration between Emory University, Morehouse School of Medicine, Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) and the University of Georgia. The TL1 Core is closely linked with the Institutional Career Development Core (KL2 Core) and governed by a joint KL2-TL1 Research Education Executive Committee. The TL1 Core provides didactic and mentored clinical and translational research (CTR) training to Georgia CTSA-supported predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees with the overarching goal of equipping them with the scientific skills, tools and methods to enhance the translation of their discoveries to improve human health. The TL1 Core in collaboration with the KL2 Core support two successful CTR didactic and mentored training programs: the Master of Science in Clinical Research (MSCR) degree program, and the Certificate Program in Translational Science (CPTS).

Since the formation of our CTSA in 2007, there have been 116 long-term TL1 trainees during the previous cycles of funding. Trainees have come from a broad range of academic backgrounds and disciplines. TL1 trainees remain highly engaged in CTR, (94% of 103 former TL1 trainees since 2007 have remained in CTR careers, including 84 in academia, 7 in industry, 5 in the federal government [CDC, NIH]), and 1 in non-university CTR. Since the establishment of Georgia CTSA in 2017 as a large CTSA, we have had a major expansion of the TL1 Core with the addition of TL1 postdoctoral trainees to a program that had previously supported predoctoral trainees.

In the Georgia CTSA cycle of funding, we have had 66 TL1-appointed trainees and an additional 63 pre- and postdoctoral trainees from the partner institutions supported by T32 grants or through institutional support who have received CTR training in the Georgia CTSA-supported MSCR or CPTS programs. In this new cycle, we will continue to innovate the TL1 Core to broaden and strengthen our training pipeline, expand access to qualified candidates across partner institutions, and support an enhanced CTR training curriculum that offers all trainees the skill sets needed to develop a successful career in CTR that can effectively contribute to improved health outcomes. The TL1 Core will support 18 TL1 slots per year (12 funded by NIH and 6 institutionally supported slots). TL1 specific aims include: 1) To provide innovative personalized training pathways by supporting rigorous didactic and mentored CTR training programs for pre- and postdoctoral trainees across the 4 partner institutions; 2) To strengthen recruitment strategies that attract exceptional candidates and to enhance the TL1 mentor training program to better support trainee development and career advancement; and 3) To integrate research methods in behavioral and social sciences and dissemination & implementation science into our training programs and increase opportunities for collaborative research engagement with public and regional partners to ensure clinical and translational research findings are translated to improve health outcomes.

Grant Number: 5TL1TR002382-09
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: HENRY BLUMBERG