Career Development Award Program

The IMPACT Collaboratory funds up to four Career Development Awards (CDAs) annually. These two-year awards support the development of early-stage MD, PhD, or equivalent researchers who seek careers conducting ePCTs for people living with AD/ADRD and their care partners. Each award will provide $100,000 annually in direct costs with an indirect cost rate capped at 8%.

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CDA applicants must:

• Be no more than 7 years out of their post-doctoral training program at the time of application. With prior approval, rare exceptions may be made for investigators more than 7 years from postdoctoral training who are seeking to change their career path to pursue research on ePCTs among PLWD.
• Demonstrate a commitment to pursuing a career in conducting ePCTs for PLWD and their care partners. This is best demonstrated by current or prior training, clinical work, publications, or research projects focused on improving care for PLWD and their care partners.
• Demonstrate basic training (post-graduate) in fundamental clinical research methods and have completed training in the ethical conduct of clinical research.
• Provide evidence of prior research productivity in seeking to improve the care and outcomes of PLWD.
• Identify a mentoring team that includes expertise in: (a) conducting ePCTs for PLWD and their care partners; (b) organizational change within healthcare systems; and (c) professional development of clinical researchers.
• Detail a robust two-year training plan in collaboration with their mentoring team focused on training in the conduct of ePCTs for PLWD and their care partners. The detailed training plan is an essential component of the CDA application. In general, a training plan limited to directed reading and meetings with mentors does not constitute a robust training plan.
• Propose a research project focused on: (a) building competency and experience in ePCTs among PLWD; and (b) generating preliminary, publishable data that will build a foundation for ongoing research focusing on ePCTs for PLWD. Projects may employ a variety of research methods, such as primary or secondary data analysis, intervention development, outcome measure development, feasibility of implementation, pilot ePCTs, or qualitative methods. Ideally, the research project will position the candidate for a future pilot study for an ePCT for PLWD and/or their care partners.
• Exceptional candidates will also demonstrate access to, and collaboration with organizational leadership within a targeted HCS. This may be demonstrated by a current or planned relationship with health system leadership at the site where the research will be conducted or other evidence of engagement with heath system leadership, such as a mentor’s ongoing program of research within the targeted HCS.
• Attend the annual 1.5-day IMPACT Collaboratory national Training Workshop both years of the CDA. When available, these dates can be found at https://impactcollaboratory.org/training-workshop/.

Applications must be submitted online through the Brown University UFunds system at: https://ufunds.brown.edu/. The online grant application will open on January 17, 2022 at 9:00 AM ET. Applications may be submitted no later than March 18, 2022 at 5:00 PM ET.

• Participate in monthly virtual meetings with Training Core leadership and other career development awardees.
• Participate in quarterly mentoring research-in-progress meetings with IMPACT trainees including career development awardees, adjunct faculty members, and postdoctoral fellows.
• Participate in regular meetings with local mentor(s).