D&I science is an interdisciplinary field that focuses on the systematic development and implementation of methods to identify means to optimize delivery of interventions proven efficacious. It requires a deep understanding of the complex social, cultural, and economic factors that drive health disparities, as well as the skills and knowledge to design, implement, and evaluate interventions that address these inequities. The CCTS Partner Network has an extensive network of D&I researchers with active collaborations within and across academic units and centers in the Deep South.
Training program overview
The goal of this program is to create highly trained, interdisciplinary and culturally competent postdoctoral trainees. In addition to activities and didactic training required of all postdoctoral trainees, the following activities are designed for this T32 training program:- In-depth mentoring on a D&I research project with weekly study team meetings
- Completion of an individual development plan (IDP) and mentoring activities
- D&I-focused didactics including coursework and D&I journal club
- Mentored-research immersions into teams conducting D&I research including hybrid implementation effectiveness studies, research in large consortiums or integrated healthcare systems, developing, implementing, and evaluating community-level interventions to address health inequities
- Cultural competency and training through intentional integration into One Great Community, the CCTS Community Scientific and Action Board, to build and enhance relationships with communities, stakeholders, and related groups and didactic offerings through the CCTS
- Grant-writing course to prepare a career development grant application
- Travel funds to attend and present their research at D&I and other discipline-focused national conferences, as well as the annual CCTS Translational Training Symposium and T32 Jamboree
- Networking and one-on-one mentorship during the CCTS Symposium
- Coordinated peer-mentoring activities with the companion T32 and K12 learning opportunities
T32 RFA | Apply Here |
Questions? Contact Jeanne Merchant (205-996-9672).
Broaden Your Career Options with a Full-time CCTS Mentored Research Training Experience!
Are you a student in a health-related doctoral program (MD, PhD, PharmD, DDS, DMD, DVM, etc.)? If so, we encourage you to apply for the CCTS Predoctoral Clinical/Translational Research (T) Program, a mentored research experience that provides the curious and creative with the tools and expertise to thrive as investigators in any setting (e.g., academia, government, industry). You are eligible if you will have completed the second year of your program when the T traineeship starts.
Our immersive program provides 12 month (for MD students) or 24 months (for PhD students) of protected time for Trainees to develop projects focused on reducing health disparities and/or diseases that disproportionately affect the Deep South. In addition, fellows will complete the core curriculum, get experience writing a manuscript, and present their research at a national conference.
Apply now! See below for application resources.
The many benefits of the CCTS Predoctoral Clinical/Translational Research Program include:
- NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) predoctoral stipend (currently $27,144) for full-time multidisciplinary mentored research training
- $1,500 travel support to attend the ACTS national meeting
- Up to $16,000 tuition support towards a Master’s degree/coursework or to complete a certificate program such as the CCTS Clinical and Translational Science Training Program
- Support for health insurance and research training-related expenses
- Dynamic learning with multidisciplinary peers of excellence
- Access to a pool of 30+ experienced mentors
- Exposure to epidemiological and statistical methodologies
- Career-broadening networking and learning opportunities
- The opportunity to make a difference through research projects in support of the CCTS mission
A 2017 CCTS Community Health Engagement Award (CHIA) winner, Shellie Layne, also an alum of the Individual Development Account (IDA) program, administered by the United Way of Central Alabama’s Financial Services Partnership, was recently in the news for the great strides she has made both personally and with her business, At Home Foundation.
The IDA program is a statewide initiative that offers qualified applicants the opportunity to save up to $2,000 of earned income that is then matched with up to $4,000. Participants can use this money to purchase a first-time home, pay for college, or start a small business. Layne used her savings to expand her nonprofit, At Home Foundation, Inc., which provides single parents and low-income women with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to perform basic home repairs; replaces worn-out appliances; and helps find temporary or permanent shelter for families in need.
Layne leveraged the success and expertise she gained via the IDA program into her CHIA project, WILAH (What I Learned At Home), which will promote self-sufficiency among 24 single, low-income mothers during two 12-week sessions. She received a $15,000 CCTS CHIA grant to support At Home Foundation’s programs, which “help build mental and emotional strength, self-confidence, self-sufficiency, and independence, all of which are foundational for good health.”
You can read Layne’s full story, “Learning to Be Financially Independent Pays Big Dividends,” here. Learn more about the CCTS CHIA program and our five other 2017 grantees.
The ability to work as part of a team is a critical skill for translational scientists, who by definition collaborate with scientists from other disciplines, institutions, generations, countries, and stages along the translational research continuum. Increasingly, translational science teams also include members of the community.
Yet for some, participating in team science is a challenge not unlike navigating a minefield replete with invisible tripwires. Enter CCTS One Great Community Chair and UAB Collat School of Business Associate Professor of Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship Dr. Anthony C. Hood, who is an expert on the emerging discipline referred to as Science of Team Science (SciTS). His presentation on the topic at a recent Health Services, Outcomes, and Effectiveness Research (HSOER) Training drew a large crowd of trainees looking for advice on how to successfully participate on a scientific team.
“Before beginning work on a project, every team should develop a ‘team charter’ so that everyone knows what is expected of each person, how each person likes to work, and how each team member’s schedule will impact the project timeline,” Hood advised. Some conflict can be avoided just by ensuring a clear understanding of team members’ roles, responsibilities, and preferences. More importantly, team charters ensure that members possess a shared understanding of the team’s overarching mission, vision and values.
Hood explained the major sources of trouble for teams: task conflict, which he defined as differing ideas, viewpoints, or opinions; relationship conflict, including interpersonal incompatibilities and annoyances; and process conflict, which is disagreement about how to actually get the work done or over workloads. One type of conflict can turn into another, and personalities can shift in response to changes in the environment. “It is important to know the type of conflict you are having,” he said, “otherwise it is difficult, even impossible, to resolve it.”
One of the keys to avoiding team conflict is to “develop a psychologically safe environment.” The team charter is part of this effort, Hood explained. Teams need many kinds of people, including those who are good at brainstorming ideas (Creatives), implementing ideas or taking action (Innovators), finding grants or commercialization opportunities (Entrepreneurs), and planning for the long term (Strategists). Team members, whatever their role, need to feel comfortable engaging in “risky interpersonal behaviors” such as speaking up, admitting errors, asking for help, and vetting information. They also need to feel valued and not distorted or rejected.
“The trick is to encourage moderate levels of intellectual tension—too much, and a team cannot complete a project appropriately. But too little task conflict hinders the generation of a team’s highest and best solutions,” Hood concluded.
To learn about upcoming CCTS learning opportunities, see our Events page and be sure to subscribe to the CCTS Digest.
In his recent Congressional budget briefing, NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins extolled the translational science of Dr. Stephen Aller, associate professor, UAB Dept. of Pharmacology and Toxicology, who has integrated a cutting-edge technology (cryo-electron microscopy, or cryo-EM) into his Cystic Fibrosis research on the misfolding of membrane proteins that contributes to the symptoms and shortened life expectancy of those with this disease.
“The goal is to turn CF into a 100% curable disease,” Collins said, “and for that we need the next-generation of scientific talent. Among the early stage investigators tackling this challenge is Stephen Aller, UAB. Trained in both computer science and biology, Stephen plans to fundamentally transform the way we deliver drugs for all kinds of conditions.”
Aller, who holds a PhD in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale, seeks to decipher the mechanism and function of integral membrane proteins in human disease and the means by which drug molecules and antibodies activate and inhibit function. He received a CCTS Drug Discovery Research Award in 2010, followed by an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award in 2011. His research holds great promise not only for producing new CF treatments, but also for reversing multi-drug resistance in cancer.
“The funding support provided by the CCTS allows scientists to take more risks, to think translationally when approaching complex diseases like CF and cancer. Cryo-EM technology could revolutionize research based on three-dimensional crystal structures of relevant mammalian membrane proteins.”
Collins showcased the work of three scientists from across the U.S. to underscore the critical importance of stable well-funded NIH budgets to enable scientific progress in diseases both common and rare. Aller was the first to be mentioned.
A video of Collins’ testimony is available at CSPAN.