PROGRAM RATIONALE
With current and anticipated developments at the cellular and molecular level, future opportunities for continuing the advancements in clinical and translational science are enormous. Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) has a long and distinguished history of advancing the science and practice of medicine and preparing scholars for basic and clinical research.
The Vanderbilt Clinical & Translational Research Scholars (VCTRS) Program provides junior faculty and fellowship level trainees who have been offered a faculty appointment and are committed to a career in clinical or translational investigation, with a mentored research apprenticeship integrated with the didactic training of the MSCI or MPH programs.
The design of the program reflects three central tenets of the training of clinical investigators at Vanderbilt:
1. the importance of individualized mentored training
2. the importance of protected time for research
3. the importance of collaboration between laboratory and clinical scientists
The VCTRS is comprised of three major components:
- a mentored research apprenticeship,
- participation in either the MSCI or MPH programs
- participation in formal career development and mentoring activities.
It is expected that VCTRS trainees will compete successfully for K-08 or K-23 funding by the end of three years, and become leaders in clinical and translational research.
