Calendar and Deadlines

1. Deadline for electronic submission of all candidate application materials, including letters: March 15, 2008
2. Notification of finalist status will occur by April 15, 2008.
3. Interviews with finalists will occur on May 1 or May 2, 2008. Please keep your schedule clear from 8am until 8pm on both days.
4. Notification of results of review: May 15, 2008
5. Start date for fellowship: July 1, 2008 (to be established in discussion with the scholars’ department Chair).

Candidates must submit a written application in an NIH format with the following components:

1. Application cover sheet click here
2. Research proposal (10 pages) including any preliminary work already conducted. The research proposal should conform to the standard NIH organizational structure and NIH guidelines with respect to the details of formatting (e.g. font size, margins) are to be followed.
3. Human subjects considerations in the planned research using the standard NIH format (Section E). This is to include a planned enrollment table.
4. Career plans/CTSC utilization (no more than 2 pages) describing how the proposed research project supports the applicant’s long-range career plans and how the applicant plans to draw on the infrastructure and resources of the CTSC (please contact us if assistance is needed in doing so).
5. Description of the applicant’s proposed training and/or educational program (no more than 3 pages).
6. NIH Biosketch from the applicant and both mentors. The applicant’s biosketch should include all sources of current extramural funding and describe applicants role, % effort and % salary support.
7. Evidence of certification in human subjects protection.
8. Three letters of support (see specific requirements below).

Requirements for Letters of Support

1. Mentors:

   Because this is a program of mentored multidisciplinary clinical research, the letters of support from the mentors will be of great importance to the reviewers. Therefore, considerable attention should be paid to the requirements for the mentors’ letter as described here:

   1. The candidate will need to identify two mentors from distinct disciplines, each of whom will contribute to the applicant’s program of research and training.
   2. The mentors’ letter is to be jointly authored and cosigned by the 2 mentors. This letter must make clear how the disciplinary expertise in each mentor will contribute to the candidate's research and training plans. It should describe how the two mentors plan to work together and what each will contribute to the candidate’s research and training.
   3. The mentors’ letter must provide evidence of familiarity with the candidate’s research and educational/training program. Ideally, the mentors will guide the candidate in the development of the research proposal to be submitted as part of this application. The mentors’ letter should describe their degree of involvement in the preparation of the application.
   4. The mentors’ letter should also describe specific plans for the frequency of contact between the mentors and the applicant and identify expectations for candidate productivity (i.e. expectations regarding manuscripts, submission of applications for extramural funding, etc.). They should indicate a willingness to complete the required semi-annual documentation of mentee progress and participate in seminars with the other scholars and their mentors.
   5. Finally, each mentor should describe their experience with mentoring and provide a table identifying prior mentees, their current positions, and any evidence of their mentees’ research productivity.
      
      
2. Department Chair:

   This letter must include a commitment to provide the applicant with at least 75% release time from any clinical, educational, or administrative responsibilities. In addition it should comment on the chairman's opinion regarding the applicant's qualifications for a career as an independent clinical research scientist and discuss how the applicant's work will contribute to/are consistent with goals of the department.

3. Another individual who can comment on the applicant's qualifications for a career as an independent clinical/translational research scientist.

These letters should clearly include the name of the applicant in the first line of the text and are to be submitted electronically ONLY. Paper documents will not be accepted. Please submit letters to Kristen Venditelli at kristen.venditelli@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu by March 15, 2008.

Review and Selection Process

Each application will be reviewed by at least two faculty reviewers. Applications scored in the upper half will be considered for finalist status. Announcement of finalist status will occur on or before April 15, 2008. Finalists will be interviewed by members of the Selection Committee on May 1, 2008 or May 2, 2008. The committee will make recommendations to the Oversight and Governance Committee of the UCD CTSC for final selection.

Evaluation Criteria

1. Scientific merit and feasibility of the multi-disciplinary research proposal
2. Qualifications of the mentors
3. Appropriateness and rigor of the educational plan
4. Suitability of the applicant for an accelerated career in clinical and translational research
5. Need for and planned utilization of CTSC facilities and infrastructure

Each of these criteria will be evaluated using usual NIH quantitative descriptors (1-5) with a supplemental written evaluation identifying major overall strengths and limitations. In addition, an overall score will be provided. A summary of review comments and scoring will be provided to applicants at the conclusion of the selection process.

Progress of Scholars and Annual Renewal Process

Scholars and their mentors will meet on a regular basis, agree on productivity goals, and discuss the scholar’s progress. This will be a proactive process designed to identify and overcome any barriers to success, facilitate access to CTSC resources, and promote accelerated career development through networking. Scholars will also present their work in progress at a combined annual retreat for CTSC training programs, and will work with the Directors of the CTSC and Education Core to help advance the CTSC mission by serving on committees and assisting in the recruitment and training of scholars in other CTSC educational programs. In addition, scholars will be asked to provide advice and feedback regarding the success of this program and methods for improving it. Documentation from both scholars and their mentors will be submitted at regular intervals.

Scholars may request review of this award at the end of the first and second year of funding. Continuation of support for up to 3 years will be contingent on meeting the programmatic, professional, and productivity expectations identified above.