Designed to ensure that scholars can function independently as a scientific professional, training and career development programs assist junior scholars who have completed their doctoral degrees to prepare for full-time research or academic careers and to broaden their research under senior scholars in their fields.
About Training & Education
Trainees in residence at the Keck School pursue advanced study beyond the doctorate to enhance the professional skills and research independence needed to pursue his or her chosen career path preparation for a full-time academic and/or research career. Training is conducted in an apprenticeship mode where she/he works under the supervision of an investigator who is qualified to fulfill the responsibilities of a mentor.
Students are trained to independently formulate meaningful hypotheses, design and conduct interpretable experiments, adhere to good laboratory practices, analyze results critically, understand the broad significance of their research findings and uphold the highest ethical standards in research. The development of additional skills—including oral and written communication, grant writing, and laboratory management—are considered integral to this training.
Individual Development Plan
One of the first things a postdoc should so is prepare an Individual Development Plan. This will help identify your strengths and weaknesses and help you put a strategy in place to achieve your career goals. The IDP is a work in progress and should be updated periodically.
SC CTSI Training Opportunities
Training is available for new clinical/translational researchers, clinicians, and researchers seeking to develop skills in reading and interpreting clinical/translational research reports; active researchers seeking a stronger methodological foundation; or those who are interested in obtaining an introduction to clinical and translational research.
K-Award Program
Recognizing the importance of clinician-researchers to the future of the nation’s health, the National Institutes of Health has developed a series of K-awards to support their career development. Some of these awards also support scientists, engineers, computational biologists, and other purely research disciplines. The Research Career Development Program is a resource to assist junior faculty in writing their individual K-award (e.g., K01, K08, K23 etc.).
KSOM Research Town Hall Meeting
Basic Science Research Topics
- Intro to Mock Review for NIH mechanisms
- Bridge Funding within KSOM
- Reagent authentication guideline at NIH
- Pilot grant funding
Clinical Research Topics
- Support for investigator-initiated studies
- Updates from the Clinical Trials Office
- Clinical Research Informatics