Program Plans and Implementation:

• Develop the programmatic environment essential to foster intellectual interactions and team building. K12 Scholars, Mentors, and the Multidisciplinary Steering Committee (MSC) will represent multiple disciplines (>7 disciplines, including pharmacology, epidemiology, biostatistics, informatics, behavioral science, genomics, clinical research design) and health professions (medicine, surgery, dentistry, and nursing), resulting in a new C/T research perspective applicable to multiple health conditions.
• Provide a comprehensive education in the basic aspects of clinical research through core didactic programs taught through one of the four existing Master’s Programs in C/T Research, along with specialized courses tailored to each Scholar’s needs.
• Guide and support trainees’ C/T research project(s) using a dual mentor model. The Primary Mentor will be the senior researcher with whom the trainee primarily works. This Primary Mentor will be teamed with a Secondary Mentor with specific methodological expertise, such as imaging, genetics/genomics, pharmacology, biostatistics/epidemiology, etc.
• Provide support and expertise to promote the development of trainees into independent investigators, including accumulation of necessary preliminary data for mounting a successful transition to independent research funding (typically an NIH K23 or R01 grant).

Technical Details and Informational Content

Recruitment:

Recruitment of our MeRIT Scholars will occur on the basis of advertisements in all Harvard-wide publications and in the New England Journal of Medicine. Special efforts will be given to encourage the physicians, dentists, nutritionists, and/or bioinformaticians already enrolled in the first year of any of the 4 existing Master’s Programs in Clinical Research across the Harvard/MIT academic axes and nurses involved in PhD programs who have completed their pre-thesis requirements. In general, individuals who are in the first year of the instructor appointment are encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria:

1. Demonstrated excellence in intellectual capabilities and past performance.
2. Motivation and future potential for leadership in academic medicine.
3. Quality of the proposed research program.

Each candidate will be required to fill out a 5-part application form to sharpen this decision-making process for the MSC. The 5 parts are:

Past Record – The candidate’s background, curriculum vitae, and personal references from 3 prior mentors will serve as important indicators of both past performance in several different settings as well as future potential. These components of the application will provide an excellent understanding of the candidate’s intellectual abilities, leadership capabilities, integrity, collegiality, and future motivation.

Research Proposal – For the most part, we will be accepting mature candidates, many of whom will have already completed their clinical fellowships or postgraduate training obligations and are already enrolled in their first year of one of the 4 required Master’s Program in Clinical Research at Harvard and MIT. Consequently, we will expect them to have selected the broad areas of their research interest, fleshed out many of the specifics of their proposed research project, and already identified their Primary Mentors. While the MSC does not expect an R01 level research plan, sufficient detail should be included to indicate the feasibility of the research project, the appropriateness of the selection of the precise Master’s Program, and the appropriate mentorship needed. Applicants not yet enrolled in a Master’s Program will be required to indicate which program they will be selecting and how it fits with their individual career goals or alternatively what will be the structure of the didactic program.

Mentors – The candidate should have selected the proposed Primary Mentor and, if possible, assembled a list of potential Secondary Mentors whose technical expertise would be appropriate to support the work. Based upon our past experiences, we anticipate that almost all MeRIT applicants and their Primary Mentors will have worked closely together to formulate a competitive research proposal focusing on a relevant biologic issue in their discipline. In general, they will also have decided upon the techniques to be used and indicate their access to patient populations required of their proposal. Fewer, however, will have the technical components (e.g., genetics, genomics, imaging) of their proposal firmly anchored at the time of the initial application.

Personal Statement of Career Goals – The candidate will be asked to provide a one-page outline of his/her short- and long-term career goals and identify how enrollment in the MeRIT program will aid in achieving these goals. Such a statement permits the MSC to understand the candidate’s vision, identify areas for help and mentorship needed early on, influence the choice or modification of the research project (if not compatible with the long-term career goals), and assist in the delineation of appropriate Secondary Mentors and technologies to facilitate the candidate’s career vision.

Individualized Career Plan – The applicant should indicate a timeline for the proposed clinical research project and its development including the sequencing and timing of:

1. Specific publications anticipated.
2. Filing of the individual K23 application that will be required of all MeRIT Scholars within 18 months of entry into the program.
3. Proposed promotions to the next academic level.
4. Quest for a faculty position.

Financial Support:

Salary – $65,000/year (75% of effort to research)
Duration – 2-3 years
Tuition – partial support
Supplies and travel – variable support

Application Deadlines:

2008: September 15 with start date of October 1, 2008
2009 and thereafter: December 15 with start date of April 1

Click here to download the application in Word format.

Relevant Contact Information

Gordon H. Williams, M.D.
Program Director
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
221 Longwood Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617.525.7490
gwilliams@partners.org

Lauren Dewey Platt, Ph.D.
Executive Director, MeRIT Program
Harvard Medical School
260 Longwood Avenue, Suite 157
Boston, MA 02115
617.432.1387
ldeweyplatt@hms.harvard.edu