KL2 scholars' perceptions of factors contributing to sustained translational science career success.

Introduction: Identifying the most effective ways to support career development of early stage investigators in clinical and translational science should yield benefits for the biomedical research community. Institutions with Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) offer KL2 programs to facilitate career development; however, the sustained impact has not been widely assessed. Methods: A survey comprised of quantitative and qualitative questions was sent to 2144 individuals that had previously received support through CTSA KL2 mechanisms. The 547 responses were analyzed with identifying information redacted. Results: Respondents held MD (47%), PhD (36%), and MD/PhD (13%) degrees. After KL2 support was completed, physicians' time was divided 50% to research and 30% to patient care, whereas PhD respondents devoted 70% time to research. Funded research effort averaged 60% for the cohort. Respondents were satisfied with their career progression. More than 95% thought their current job was meaningful. Two-thirds felt confident or very confident in their ability to sustain a career in clinical and translational research. Factors cited as contributing to career success included protected time, mentoring, and collaborations. Conclusion: This first large systematic survey of KL2 alumni provides valuable insight into the group's perceptions of the program and outcome information. Former scholars are largely satisfied with their career choice and direction, national recognition of their expertise, and impact of their work. Importantly, they identified training activities that contributed to success. Our results and future analysis of the survey data should inform the framework for developing platforms to launch sustaining careers of translational scientists.

Immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on CTSA TL1 and KL2 training and career development.

Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) TL1 trainees and KL2 scholars were surveyed to determine the immediate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training and career development. The most negative impact was lack of access to research facilities, clinics, and human subjects, plus for KL2 scholars lack of access to team members and need for homeschooling. TL1 trainees reported having more time to think and write. Common strategies to maintain research productivity involved time management, virtual connections with colleagues, and shifting to research activities not requiring laboratory/clinic settings. Strategies for mitigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on training and career development are described.

A multi-disciplinary approach to implementation science: the NIH-PEPFAR PMTCT implementation science alliance.

In resource-limited countries, interventions to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) have not yet realized their full potential health impact, illustrating the common gap between the scientific proof of an intervention's efficacy and effectiveness and its successful implementation at scale into routine health services. For PMTCT, this gap results, in part, from inadequate adaptation of PMTCT interventions to the realities of the implementation environment, including client and health care worker behaviors and preferences, health care policies and systems, and infrastructure and resource constraints. Elimination of mother-to-child HIV transmission can only be achieved through understanding of key implementation barriers and successful adaptation of scientifically proven interventions to the local environment. Central to such efforts is implementation science (IS), which aims to investigate and address major bottlenecks that impede effective implementation and to test new approaches to identifying, understanding, and overcoming barriers to the adoption, adaptation, integration, scale-up, and sustainability of evidence-based interventions. Advancing IS will require deliberate and strategic efforts to facilitate collaboration, communication, and relationship-building among researchers, implementers, and policy-makers. To speed the translation of effective PMTCT interventions into practice and advance IS more broadly, the US National Institutes of Health, in collaboration with the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief launched the National Institutes of Health/President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief PMTCT IS Alliance, comprised of IS researchers, PMTCT program implementers, and policy-makers as an innovative platform for interaction and coordination.

Proceedings from the Third National Institutes of Health International Congress on Advances in Uterine Leiomyoma Research: comprehensive review, conference summary and future recommendations.

BACKGROUND Uterine fibroids are the most common gynecologic tumors in women of reproductive age yet the etiology and pathogenesis of these lesions remain poorly understood. Age, African ancestry, nulliparity and obesity have been identified as predisposing factors for uterine fibroids. Symptomatic tumors can cause excessive uterine bleeding, bladder dysfunction and pelvic pain, as well as associated reproductive disorders such as infertility, miscarriage and other adverse pregnancy outcomes. Currently, there are limited noninvasive therapies for fibroids and no early intervention or prevention strategies are readily available. This review summarizes the advances in basic, applied and translational uterine fibroid research, in addition to current and proposed approaches to clinical management as presented at the 'Advances in Uterine Leiomyoma Research: 3rd NIH International Congress'. Congress recommendations and a review of the fibroid literature are also reported. METHODS This review is a report of meeting proceedings, the resulting recommendations and a literature review of the subject. RESULTS The research data presented highlights the complexity of uterine fibroids and the convergence of ethnicity, race, genetics, epigenetics and environmental factors, including lifestyle and possible socioeconomic parameters on disease manifestation. The data presented suggest it is likely that the majority of women with uterine fibroids will have normal pregnancy outcomes; however, additional research is warranted. As an alternative to surgery, an effective long-term medical treatment for uterine fibroids should reduce heavy uterine bleeding and fibroid/uterine volume without excessive side effects. This goal has not been achieved and current treatments reduce symptoms only temporarily; however, a multi-disciplined approach to understanding the molecular origins and pathogenesis of uterine fibroids, as presented in this report, makes our quest for identifying novel targets for noninvasive, possibly nonsystemic and effective long-term treatment very promising. CONCLUSIONS The Congress facilitated the exchange of scientific information among members of the uterine leiomyoma research and health-care communities. While advances in research have deepened our knowledge of the pathobiology of fibroids, their etiology still remains incompletely understood. Further needs exist for determination of risk factors and initiation of preventive measures for fibroids, in addition to continued development of new medical and minimally invasive options for treatment.

Building the Women's Health Research Workforce: Fostering Interdisciplinary Research Approaches in Women's Health.

BACKGROUND: The Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) program is a mentored institutional research career development program developed to support and foster the interdisciplinary research careers of men and women junior faculty in women's health and sex/gender factors. The number of scholars who apply for and receive National Institutes of Health (NIH) research or career development grants is one proximate indicator of whether the BIRCWH program is being successful in achieving its goals. PRIMARY STUDY OBJECTIVE: To present descriptive data on one metric of scholar performance-NIH grant application and funding rates. METHODS/DESIGN: Grant applications were counted if the start date was 12 months or more after the scholar's BIRCWH start date. Two types of measures were used for the outcome of interest-person-based funding rates and application-based success rates. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Grant application, person funding, and application success rates. RESULTS: Four hundred and ninety-three scholars had participated in BIRCWH as of November 1, 2012. Seventy-nine percent of BIRCWH scholars who completed training had applied for at least one competitive NIH grant, and 64% of those who applied had received at least one grant award. Approximately 68% of completed scholars applied for at least one research grant, and about half of those who applied were successful in obtaining at least one research award. Men and women had similar person funding rates, but women had higher application success rates for RoI grants. LIMITATIONS: Data were calculated for all scholars across a series of years; many variables can influence person funding and application success rates beyond the BIRCWH program; and lack of an appropriate comparison group is another substantial limitation to this analysis. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that the BIRCWH program has been successful in bridging advanced training with establishing independent research careers for scholars.

Monitoring the implementation of the national institutes of Health Strategic Plan for Women's Health and Sex/gender Differences research: Strategies and Successes.

Building upon the legacy of the previous two National Institutes of Health (NIH) women's health research agenda-setting reports,(1) (,) (2) the Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) released the third NIH scientific agenda for women's health and sex differences research in September 2010, entitled Moving Into The Future With New Dimensions and Strategies: A Vision for 2020 For Women's Health Research.(3) Within NIH, ORWH is part of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives, residing in the Office of the Director; ORWH is charged with coordinating women's health research in collaboration with the 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) that make up NIH, each of which has a distinct mission and identity. Of note, the 2010 research agenda, or strategic plan, is the women's health research agenda for NIH overall, cutting across the missions of all the ICs. As such, it serves as a map to guide new efforts as well as continue collaborations within NIH in order to fulfill the NIH mission to seek fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems and to apply that knowledge to enhance health, lengthen life, and reduce illness and disability. Through the framework of the strategic plan, in partnership with the NIH ICs, the Office of the Director, and the Advisory Committees (Figure 1), ORWH leads efforts to meet this mission as it relates to women's health.

Best practices and pearls in interdisciplinary mentoring from Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health Directors.

BACKGROUND: Increasingly, national programs and leaders are looking at interdisciplinary collaborations as essential to future research. Twelve years ago, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) developed and implemented the Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH) K12 program to focus on interdisciplinary mentored career development for junior faculty in women's health research. METHODS: We applied a mixed-methods approach using an electronic survey and in-person presentations and discussions to understand best practices and lessons learned for interdisciplinary mentoring across BIRCWH K12 program leaders. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We received responses from all 29 active BIRCWH programs. Factors associated with success included ensuring sufficient protected time for regular (weekly or biweekly) mentoring; mentors promoting the research independence of the Scholar; a team mentoring approach, including career as well as content mentors; and explicit and clear expectations outlined between the Scholar and mentor. The majority of programs conduct formal evaluations of mentorship, and 79% of programs offer training in mentorship for either Scholars, mentors, or both. This article presents program leaders' best practices, challenges, and lessons learned from mentoring junior faculty who are conducting women's health research, whether basic, clinical, behavioral, translational, or health services research, using an interdisciplinary mentoring approach.

Interdisciplinary research career development: building interdisciplinary research careers in women's health program best practices.

BACKGROUND: The Office of Research on Women's Health (ORWH) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Institutes and Centers and the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality (AHRQ) have sponsored an interdisciplinary research career development program in five funding cycles since 2000 through a K12 mechanism titled "Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (BIRCWH)." As of 2010, 407 scholars have been supported in interdisciplinary women's health research and a total of 63 BIRCWH program awards have been made to 41 institutions across the U.S. METHODS: In an effort to share practical approaches to interdisciplinary research training, currently funded BIRCWH sites were invited to submit 300-word bullet-point style summaries describing their best practices in interdisciplinary research training following a common format with an emphasis on practices that are innovative, can be reproduced in other places, and advance women's health research. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Twenty-six program narratives provide unique perspectives along with common elements and themes in interdisciplinary research training best practices.