Over the past decade, industry-sponsored clinical trial activity at UAB has grown steadily. To sustain and accelerate this momentum, the Clinical Trialist Development Program (CTDP) supports promising faculty who aspire to become leading principal investigators (PIs) on industry-sponsored clinical trials. CTDP provides protected time, training, mentorship, and access to research resources to help faculty build robust clinical trial portfolios that advance innovation and patient care.
Clinical Trialist Development Program Document (PDF)
Clinical Trialist Development Program Document (PDF)
Program Goals
Expand the pool of clinician-investigators at UAB leading industry-funded trials.
Provide structured mentorship and training in clinical trial leadership.
Strengthen UAB’s capacity to partner with industry sponsors in impactful research.
Eligibility
UAB faculty member at the rank of Assistant Professor or Associate Professor
Prior or current participation in at least 1 industry sponsored clinical trial as PI, site PI, or sub-investigator
-
-
Statement of research interest in clinical trials, and plan to develop or expand expertise as a clinical trialist (2 page maximum).
-
Documentation of prior involvement in clinical research (number of trials served as PI, site PI, sub-investigator, etc.).
-
Letter of support from Division Director, Department Chair, and/or Dean’s Office, including a commitment to protect at least 20% of total time (UAB +HSF) to serve as PI on clinical trials.
-
Letter of support from her/his identified mentor (senior clinical trialist) at UAB.
-
-
-
-
Support to participate in the Clinical Investigator Training Program (CITP) within the first year (mandatory), unless the applicant has already completed this or a comparable clinical trial training program.
-
Two years of protected time of at least 20% of total effort (UAB + HSF) to provide dedicated time towards developing her/his clinical trials portfolio. This protected time will be allocated by the Division/Department/School.
- During Year 1 of the successful applicant’s involvement in the program, the CTDP will provide salary support of up to 20% of the NIH cap, inclusive of both salary and fringe.
- During Year 2 of the the successful applicant’s involvement in the program, the Department or School will provide salary support adequate to protect at least 20% of total effort (UAB + HSF).
-
Selected applicants can also apply for a “voucher” from the CTDP that can be used to receive services from the UAB Clinical Research Support Enterprise (CReSt) to assist the CTDP participant with key start-up, budgeting, or study management activities. To encourage the identification and engagements of mentors, selected applicants may also use these vouchers to support the mentor’s research program by accessing CReSt services or by supporting existing comparable expertise within their research unit.
-
Time-to-Activation (TTA) of projects conducted by CTDP participants will be actively overseen by Dr. David Kimberlin and the faculty member’s School to ensure prompt study initiation.
-
Quarterly group meetings with Dr. Dana Rizk and Dr. David Kimberlin will be held with all CTDP participants to create a near-peer community, share best practices, and identify and overcome barriers to success.
-
Identified mentors will submit bi-annual short progress reports highlighting the applicant’s achievements.
-
Success Metrics
- Increasing number of UAB clinical trialists
- Number of industry-sponsored clinical trials (per NIH definition) on which the CTDP participant serves on as site PI
- Annual target enrollment achieved in the clinical trials for which the CTDP participant serves as site PI (goal of ≥85% enrollment)
- Expenditures from trials led by CTDP participants as site PI
- Retention of CTDP participants as clinical trialists at UAB (over 3-5 year horizon)