CICATS K12 Scholars

A Mentored Research Experience

The purpose of the CICATS K12 Scholars program is to support the career development of investigators who have made a commitment to focus their research endeavors on clinical and translational science.  The scholarship will support 75% salary of  the successful awardee for three to five years of supervised study and research for clinically trained professionals who have the potential to develop into productive, clinical investigators focusing on clinical and translational research. If the 75% salary support (including fringe) exceeds $100,000, other sources for that support shall need to be identified. Funding for the program is provided by the University. Scholars will be required to affiliate with a Core Interest Group (CIG) that is endorsed by the CICATS to identify a multidisciplinary research team that will provide the mentored research experience.

Eligibility

Ideal candidates are just completing fellowship years or are early career faculty (within the first three years of first academic appointment). Applicants too early in their careers may be more appropriately supported on a T32 grant. Applicants later in their careers may not benefit from additional mentoring. Applicants cannot apply after receiving their first R01 award.

In order to apply to participate in the CICATS Scholars programs, individuals must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Faculty appointment at the level of assistant professor
2. No prior NIH R01 funding as a Principal Investigator
3. The candidate must possess a health professional doctoral degree (or its equivalent) suitable for a productive research career. Such degrees include but are not limited to the M.D., D.O., D.D.S., D.M.D., O.D., D.C., Pharm.D., N.D. (Doctor of Naturopathy), as well as a doctoral degree in nursing research or practice. Candidates with Ph.D. degrees are eligible for this award if the degree is in a clinical field and they usually perform clinical duties.  This may include clinical psychologists, clinical geneticists, social workers, speech and language pathologists, audiologists, and rehabilitationists.
4. A commitment of 75% effort to research, with exceptions as permitted by NIH

Application Process

Application will be accepted in response to a request for applications only. A one-page letter of intent should be submitted with a copy of your curriculum vitae to Dr. Susan Reisine (REISINE@NSO1.UCHC.EDU). The letter of intent should include a description of your research experience, an outline of a career development plan, a description of your research project and the names of two mentors (one basic science and one clinical/translational science) who will supervise the research project.

After initial review of letters of intent, 5-6 applicants will be selected by October 1, 2009 to apply for the program. The selected candidates shall be expected to submit a full application based on the NIH K23 application, by January 1, 2010. Applications will undergo peer review with final selection and notification in February, 2010. The award will begin March 1, 2010.

Career Development Awards

After soliciting letters of intent in 2009 at the Farmington and Storrs campuses, we received 20 inquiries, 14 letters of intent and selected eight candidates to submit a full application. Four complete applications were received on January 1, 2010. Two applicants, Drs. Katie Martin and Biree Andemariam received the initial K12 awards.

Katie S. Martin, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences and the Center for Public Health and Health Policy at UConn-Storrs. Dr. Martin received her Ph.D. in Nutrition Science and Policy from Tufts University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Connecticut, Storrs with Dr. Ann Ferris. Her research expertise is in food security, food assistance programs, obesity and social capital among low-income populations. For the past two years Dr. Martin has partnered with the Hartford Food System to evaluate their Healthy Food Retailer Initiative among small markets in Hartford. That project was supported with a grant from the Donaghue Medical Research Foundation. For her K12 project, she will evaluate an intervention called Freshplace, which is based on Social Cognitive Theory with motivational interviewing to develop food security and self-sufficiency among Hartford residents. Her mentors are Drs. Judith Fifield and Victor Hesselbrock. Dr. Martin will join the Obesity Core Interest Group.

Biree Andemariam, M.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, Farmington. She is hematologist-oncologist with Lea’s Foundation for Hematologic Disorders, part of the Carole and Ray Neag Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Andemariam received her MD with research honors from Tufts University and is a Master of Science candidate in Clinical Investigation at Weill Cornell Medical College. Her research interests include new advances in care for patients with sickle cell disease and she currently receives research support from Lea’s Foundation for Leukemia Research. For this project, she will focus on the pathogenesis of severe asthma in transgenic sickle cell mice and later, in humans with sickle cell disease. Her mentors are Drs. Roger Thrall and Pramod Srivastiva. Dr. Andemariam is part of the Sickle Cell Core Interest Group.