KL2 Medical Research Investigator Training

KL2 Medical Research Investigator Training The KL2 MeRIT program provides eligible junior faculty from across Harvard Catalyst with support to pursue rigorous training in clinical and translational research, which will foster the development of their independent research careers. The program offers advanced training in clinical and translational research to junior faculty from all of the health professions that are represented in Harvard Catalyst, including medicine, dentistry, and nursing.

KL2 Medical Research Investigator Training (MeRIT) Program

KL2 awardees will receive advanced training in multiple disciplines, including biostatistics, epidemiology, clinical pharmacology, study design, genetics, bioinformatics, bioethics, behavioral science, and imaging. Awardees can pursue this training within one of the four available Harvard master’s programs in clinical and translational research (where eligible) or by combining elements of the various programs. Alternatively KL2 awardees may structure an individual educational program that fulfills the mission of the program and provides optimal training for their specific career objectives.

In addition to the educational component of the program, KL2 awardees will pursue a mentored research project in their area of expertise. It is expected that the research performed within the KL2 program will provide the basis for an independent NIH award (i.e., K23, KO8, or RO1).

Previous Award Recipients

2008
Sherry Hsiang-Yi Chou, M.D. (BWH/MGH)
Project: Biomarkers of delayed ischemic damage following subarachnoid hemorrhage
Mentor(s): Steven Feske, M.D.; MingMing Ning, M.D.

Aaron Cypess, M.D., Ph.D. (Joslin)
Project: Biology of brown adipose tissue in adult humans
Mentor(s): C. Ronald Kahn, M.D.

Yvonne Lee, M.D. (BWH)
Project: Association and mechanisms of pain extent and functional outcomes in rheumatoid arthritis patients
Mentor(s): Elizabeth Karlson, M.D.

Melanie Pogach, M.D. (BIDMC)
Project: Assessment of the effects of partial sleep deprivation on insulin responsiveness
Mentor(s): J. Woodrow Weiss, M.D.

Luminita Pojoga, Ph.D. (BWH)
Project: Association of caveolin-1 polymorphisms, insulin resistance, and hypertension
Mentor(s): Gail Adler, M.D., Ph.D.; Scott Weiss, M.D.

Joseph Schwab, M.D. (MGH)
Project: Immunotherapy of human chordomas
Mentor(s): Francis Hornicek, M.D., Ph.D.

Mentoring and Program Oversight

Each awardee will work with his/her mentor to develop planning, direction, and execution of a career development plan and research project. Mentors must be accomplished investigators in clinical and translational research and must have a track record of success in training new investigators and fostering their success as independent researchers. An integrated consultation service will provide broad oversight of the program, and each awardee will be assigned a customized triage team to ensure the relevance of training and coursework.

Award

The KL2 award will provide two years of salary support at 75 percent of the awardee’s institutional salary base up to the NIH salary cap, plus fringe benefits. Surgeons may elect to receive as little as 50 percent of their institutional salary base (see eligibility requirements below). Educational programs within Harvard Catalyst will be tuition free. Six awards will be made. Funding for those selected will begin by October 1, 2009. There are no indirect costs associated with this award.

Eligibility

We encourage applicants from all health disciplines who meet the following criteria:

  • Must be U.S. citizens, noncitizen residents, or permanent residents.
  • Must hold a research or health-professional doctoral degree.
  • Must be in the first few years of a faculty appointment at a Harvard Catalyst-affiliated institution.
  • Fellows who are on the cusp of their first faculty position and can devote 75% of their time to research training, are also eligible.
  • Must be able to commit 75 percent of professional effort to the program except for surgeons, who may be eligible to commit as little as 50 percent time. Salary provided will be commensurate with the percentage of effort committed to the program.
  • Must not be or have been a principal investigator on an NIH R01, or a project leader on a subproject of a Program Project (P01), Center (P50, P60, U54), mentored career development grant (K23, K08, K01, etc.), or equivalent non-PHS peer reviewed research grants that are over $100,000 in direct costs per year.
  • Must be pursuing a career path and proposed program in human/translational research.

Application and Review Process

All applications to the KL2 MeRIT program will be competitively reviewed and will consist of the following:

  • Completed and signed application
  • Copy of document establishing U.S. citizenship or proof of legal residence
  • PHS 398 Face Page signed by authorized institutional official
  • Statement of intent describing research areas of interest, previous research experience, summary of relevant educational activities, description of proposed research project, reasons for selecting mentor(s), short- and longer-term goals, and relevance of the MeRIT program to those goals.
  • Your current CV
  • Mentor's NIH Biosketch
  • Signed letter of support from your department chair/division head, guaranteeing 75 percent protected time to pursue the educational and research goals of the program
  • Signed letter of recommendation from your mentor
  • Optional additional letter of recommendation

Deadline and Notification

The deadline for completed applications is 5:00 PM Monday, September 14, 2009.

A single email with six (6) attachments must be emailed to E-mail by 5:00 PM on September 14, 2009.

Additionally, the applicant's signed letter for recommendation from his/her mentor must be emailed directly to E-mail by 5:00 PM on September 14, 2009.

Those receiving awards will be notified by October 1, and funding will begin on that date.

Questions?

Please contact Program Coordinator Michelle Wright (E-Mail or 617-432-7809).