Training Translators in the PENN CTSA

Abstract

The University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has been an international leader in medical education, biomedical research and research training for over 240 years. In concert with this commitment, and in response to the CTSA initiative, we developed a comprehensive training program to recruit, train and nurture a new cadre of professionals with defined expertise in clinical and translational research (CTR) (1,2). The absence of such professionals is an identified barrier to the timely translation of basic discoveries to the clinical realm (3,4). Additionally, we have striven to create one academic home that would permit the integration of existing and future training initiatives and create an academic identity for our trainees and graduates. We have worked to achieve these objectives across the spectrum of potential and existing trainees, from undergraduates to graduate and professional students, and from fellows to faculty, recognizing that while each population requires unique needs they must be interconnected in a continuum of training and mentorship. We strove to create a program that would be complimentary to yet distinct from existing programs in clinical epidemiology and health services research. Our approach to address the first goal has been the development of three targeted and interrelated CTSA training components, undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate training, as depicted in Figure 1. Recognizing that individuals need different levels and types of training at each stage of their academic development, we have provided multiple training options for each level of trainee: undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate trainee (fig 1.). Fig 1 The CTSA Training components The CTSA program elements are distinguishable by their depth of learning: (1) preview/awareness opportunities for uncommitted trainees; (2) certification programs for trainees who plan to function as translational research project team members; and (3) a degree program for the training of independent investigators in translational research. As can be seen from figure 1 individual elements are available to different constituencies of students. Thus the ‘awareness program’ is designed for undergraduates, the certificate and degree programs are designed for pre-doctoral and post-doctoral trainees. The CTSA has been catalytic, permitting the growth and development of novel programs and the expansion of existing programs. Specifically the award has permitted and supported(i) refinement of existing programs and incorporation of the recently established national CTR education competencies as developed by the CTSA Education Strategic Goal (SGC) and Key Function Committees (KFC); (ii) expansion of existing programs to provide novel graduate educational opportunities in the domain of translational therapeutics (iii)implementation ofa comprehensive mentoring program for all level of trainee and facilitated continued collaboration on national CTSA mentoring initiatives; and (v) integration of all existing education programs to maximize resources, optimize training flexibility, minimize duration of training, and strengthen the caliber and breadth of the learning experience. The CTSA training program which extends from undergraduate to post-graduate trainees and faculty has successfully connected experience in basic science with clinical training and has permitted the intertwining of all facets of training. Our efforts thus far have fostered the emergence of a new integrative discipline whose “academic home” is in the Institute for Translational Medicine and Therapeutics (ITMAT). The institute was founded in 2005 as the first institute of translational medicine in the world and was originally housed in the school of medicine. In response to the CTSA, it has expanded to embrace all of the Penn CTSA partner institutions (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), The Wistar Institute, the Monell Institute and the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia) and 9 of the 12 constituent schools of the University of Pennsylvania.