Building an institutional K awardee program at UC Davis through utilization of CTSA resources.

NIH offers multiple mentored career development award mechanisms. By building on the UC Davis Clinical and Translational Science Center (CTSC) from its initial NIH funding in 2006, we created an institution-wide K scholar resource. We investigated subsequent NIH funding for K scholars and to what extent CTSC research resources were used. Using NIH RePORTER, we created a database of UC Davis investigators who obtained K01, K08, K23, K25, or K99, as well as institutional KL2 or K12 awards and tracked CTSC research resource use and subsequent funding success. Overall, 94 scholars completed K training between 2007 and 2020, of which 70 participated in one of four institutional, NIH-funded K programs. An additional 103 scholars completed a mentored clinical research training program. Of 94 K awardees, 61 (65%) later achieved NIH funding, with the majority receiving a subsequent individual K award. A higher proportion (73%) of funded scholars used CTSC resources compared to unfunded (48%). Biostatistics and Biomedical Informatics were most commonly used and 55% of scholars used one or more CTSC resource. We conclude that institutional commitment to create a K scholar platform and use of CTSC research resources is associated with high NIH funding rates for early career investigators.

I-Corps@NCATS trains clinical and translational science teams to accelerate translation of research innovations into practice.

INTRODUCTION: A key barrier to translation of biomedical research discoveries is a lack of understanding among scientists regarding the complexity and process of implementation. To address this challenge, the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps™ (I-Corps™) program trains researchers in entrepreneurship. We report results from the implementation of an I-Corps™ training program aimed at biomedical scientists from institutions funded by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS). METHODS: National/regional instructors delivered 5-week I-Corps@NCATS short courses to 62 teams (150 individuals) across six institutions. Content included customer discovery, value proposition, and validating needs. Teams interviewed real-life customers and presented the value of innovations for specific end-users weekly, culminating in a "Finale" featuring their refined business thesis and business model canvas. Methodology was developed to evaluate the newly adapted program. National mixed-methods evaluation assessed program implementation, reach, effectiveness using observations of training delivery and surveys at Finale (n = 55 teams), and 3-12 months post-training (n = 34 teams). RESULTS: Innovations related to medical devices (33%), drugs/biologics (20%), software applications (16%), and diagnostics (8%). An average of 24 interviews was conducted. Teams reported increased readiness for commercialization over time (83%, 9 months; 14%, 3 months). Thirty-nine percent met with institutional technology transfer to pursue licensing/patents and 24% pursued venture capital/investor funding following the short courses. CONCLUSIONS: I-Corps@NCATS training provided the NCATS teams a rigorous and repeatable process to aid development of a business model based on customer needs. Outcomes of this pilot program support the expansion of I-Corps™ training to biomedical scientists for accelerating research translation.

Exploration of Mistreatment and Burnout Among Resident Physicians: a Cross-Specialty Observational Study.

PURPOSE: Resident physician mistreatment and burnout are widespread issues in medical training, but the association between the two remains unclear. This study examines the prevalence and types of mistreatment among resident physicians in core specialties and its association with burnout syndrome as well as feelings of depression/anxiety. METHODS: A cross-sectional, survey-based observational study of medical residents was conducted at the University of California, Davis Medical Center in 2014. Current residents (PGY2 or higher) in the internal medicine, family medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, surgery, and pediatrics programs completed anonymous questionnaires addressing topics such as workplace mistreatment, feelings of depression/anxiety, and stress management. Burnout was measured using the Maslach Burnout Inventory. RESULTS: Forty-four out of 105 residents (41.9%) witnessed mistreatment of their co-residents while 26 residents (24.8%) disclosed personal accounts of mistreatment. Seventy-one percent of residents met the criteria for burnout. Residents who had been personally mistreated were almost eight times more likely to report burnout (OR 7.6, 95% CI = 1.7-34.4) and almost four times more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression (OR 3.8, 95% CI = 1.6-9.1). Public belittlement or humiliation was the most common type of mistreatment. CONCLUSION: Encountering mistreatment was associated with higher rates of burnout, as well as depression/anxiety. While it is uncertain if mistreatment in the workplace has a causative impact on burnout syndrome, the findings reveal the need to address work-related environmental factors that may contribute to both resident physician mistreatment and burnout.