One of the critical functions of the ICTS is the training of highly motivated scholars and participating staff for careers in clinical and translational research. This is the core function of this program.
The ICTS offers a number of training programs to meet the needs of trainees. One mechanism for training is the graduate program in Translational Biomedicine. It offers both a Master's and Ph.D. degree. Both include an intensive program of course work followed by hands on research and training in clinical and translational research. The thesis for the three-year Master's degree is a written NIH grant. This serves as the thesis proposal for the four-year Ph.D. degree as a traditional thesis is required for this degree. All trainees have a multidisciplinary group of mentors that includes the primary mentor, a mentor for biostatistics, a mentor for epidemiology/study design, and an additional basic or clinical mentor. The program is very flexible and can train individuals interested in bench to bedside research across the clinical and translational research spectrum to health outcomes and policy. All trainees attend the ICTS seminar series and the multidisciplinary mentoring series. There are multiple interactions between trainees so that all trainees are exposed to the multiple domains of clinical and translational research. Trainees from all Colleges within the University are eligible for the program, as long as their training involves clinical and translational research. Scholars can be trained at both the pre- and post-doctoral level. Some of the funding for the scholars comes from the ICTS TL1 and KL2 programs. Other sources of funding include multiple T32's, other grants, and Institutional funds. There is an online application process.
The program includes several NIH-funded training components, a year-out research experience for medical students, PhD and MS degree programs in clinical and translational research, a year-long certificate program, and a variety of short-term research experiences.
The ICTS has also brought together all of the T32 program under the umbrella of the ICTS Council of T32 directors. The purpose of this program is to develop mechanisms to help all T32's, solve common problems, and to develop multidisciplinary conferences for trainees.
The ICTS offers several short term training venues, including training for a 2-4 month period of time.
The ICTS is also organizing a training program for study coordinators. It will consist of coursework, seminars, and a venue for communication. This will ultimately become a certificate program.
