REQUEST FOR APPLICATIONS (RFA) 

Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)
Research Education, Training and Career Development Core (CTSI-Ed) 

RFA Release Date: December 1, 2023 New! See our FAQs page

HIGHLIGHTS

• Awards of up to $16,000 in research funds available over two years

• Research and professional career development (two year program) 

• Career development focuses on science communication, community engagement, and team science; career development complements the mentored research

• Open to predoctoral students pursuing a PhD and postdoctoral fellows (see details below); Scholars represent a multidisciplinary cohort

• Available to: 

  • predoctoral students pursuing a PhD (or dual degree with a PhD) who have passed their written and oral preliminary examinations; and

  • PhD postdoctoral fellows within 3 years of completing their PhD 

  • Students with clinical rotations that fall within the requested length of the award are not eligible to apply

  • U.S. citizenship not required

• Applicants underrepresented in health sciences, or those with disadvantaged backgrounds as defined by NIH, are strongly encouraged to apply. (Information collected for NIH reporting purposes only and will not affect eligibility.)

TRDP Program Description

The Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI) provides institutional research funds for predoctoral students and postdoctoral fellows with a demonstrable and significant interest in translational research/science focused on human health.  The program provides early stage investigators with significant experience in clinical and translational research/science as a foundation for the development of an independent research career.  

The TRDP Program seeks applicants conducting translational research and/or translational science. Translational research fosters the multidirectional and multidisciplinary integration of basic research, patient-oriented research, and population-based research, with the long-term aim of improving the health of the public. Translational science investigates the scientific and operational principles underlying each step of the translational process in order to make it predictable and efficient. Applications describing translational science projects are encouraged.

Funds are designed to support a modest research project that will result in at least one first-authored publication in a peer reviewed journal for the Scholar.  The TRDP project must be secondary to the applicant’s primary research endeavors and must advance the Scholar’s research along the clinical and translational research spectrum (see below). For example, a TRDP project for a Scholar currently conducting basic research (T0) should be in the T1, T2, T3, or T4 translational categories.  Similarly, a Scholar currently conducting health services research (T3) should develop a TRDP project that demonstrates a clear movement toward T4 research.

A portion of the funds may also be used to support didactic coursework or attendance at workshops that will facilitate successful completion of the TRDP project by developing the applicant’s skills in clinical and translational research/science.  

The Translational Research Development Program will award up to 4 Scholars, with a maximum award of $16,000 in research funds. In addition to the awardee’s current primary research mentor, awardees must engage a translational mentor who will help advise and guide the TRDP project.  This translational research mentor must be a faculty member who conducts clinical or translational research, or a biostatistician at the University of Minnesota who will provide significant mentoring for the project. The translational mentor’s experience and expertise should complement that of the primary mentor.

Applications from students from underrepresented in health-related sciences are strongly encouraged.