Clinical and Translational Research Support for Pre-doctoral Students

The CCTS REACH Program provides support for pre-doctoral clinical and translational research through opportunities offered by the TL1 Pre-doctoral Education for Clinical and Translational Scientists (PECTS) Program and the new Pre-doctoral Support for Translational Research (TR) Program:

Pre-doctoral Education for Clinical and Translational Scientists (PECTS) Program

Admission

Schedule

Program Structure

For Current Students

Applications for the CCTS TL1 Pre-doctoral Education for Clinical and Translational Scientists (PECTS) Program are currently not being accepted. Check back for new RFA deadline in Jan/Feb 2013. For recent RFA, and examples of prior successful TL1 applications, click here. For application, click here.

Currently Supported PECTS Fellows

2012 PECTS Fellows

Cody Rutledge, MD/PhD Candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program in the Department of Physiology, College of Medicine. Research: Src Regulation of Cx43 Expression in Ischemic Heart Disease

2011 PECTS Fellows

Jackson Cone, PhD Candidate, Department of Psychology (LAS) in the Neuroscience Program. Research: Effects of gherlin on dopamine evoked by food and food-predictive cues.

Phillip Baker, PhD Candidate, Department of Psychology (LAS) in the Neuroscience Program. Research: Prefrontal cortex-basal ganglia contributions to cognitive flexibility.

Sarah Berth, Dean's Scholar, and MD/PhD Candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program, completing graduate study in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Neuroscience Program. Research: Intra-axonal regulation of fast axonal transport by the HIV glycoprotein gp120.

Previously Supported PECTS Fellows

2010 PECTS Fellows

Ina Han, MD/PhD Candidate in the Medical Scientist Training Program, completing graduate study in the Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology in the Neuroscience Program, remains supported therough 2012. Research:The role of the JNK kinase pathway in Huntington's Disease pathogenesis.

2008-2010 PECTS Fellows

Danyelle Martin, Department of Medicine and the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, received a one-year extension of her fellowship through August 2011. She successfully defended her PhD dissertation in April of 2012.

Yalda Afshar, in the COM Medical Scientist Training Program, graduated with her MD and PhD in Physiology and Biophysics in May 2012. She was the recipient of the Eugertha Bates Memorial Award, as well as the Jay G. Hirsch and William A. Tito Memorial Award. Her research was awarded the Ervin G. Erdös, MD, and Sara F. Rabito Erdös, MD Prize.

The CCTS PECTS Fellows are supported in completing their dissertation research under the mentorship of successful clinical and translational researchers at UIC.

GOALS OF THE PECTS PROGRAM

The CCTS Pre-doctoral Education for Clinical and Translational Scientists (PECTS) Program supports the dissertation research of basic biomedical PhD candidates who are preparing for careers as translational researchers. Awards will support trainees whose graduate research has a major clinical or translational research focus, but who are part of a more basic PhD program that does not ordinarily provide training in more clinically applied investigation. PECTS fellows will be trained to be the "natural" collaborators for clinical and translational researchers. Also, trainees will become part of a clinical and translational science community through mentorship, collaboration, seminars, and workshops outside of their separate degree programs.

As a PECTS Fellow, individuals will be provided with two years of stipend support, at the NIH Ruth Kirschstein NRSA level (currently $22,032 annually), plus $5200/yr for trainee-related expenses. PECTS Fellows will be expected to devote full time to their research during the period of support.

For questions regarding the program, please contact Jack Zwanziger at jzwanzig@uic.edu, or Larry Tobacman at LST@uic.edu.

Supplemental Pre-doctoral Support for Translational Research (TR) Program

Admission

Schedule

Program Structure

For Current Students

The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) offers the CCTS Pre-doctoral Support for Translational Research Program to partially support the stipends of basic biomedical PhD candidates who are preparing for careers as translational researchers. Awards will support trainees whose graduate research is poised to move towards a more clinical or translational focus. These awards are specifically designed for those students who are funded by a NIH training grant (T32) or individual NRSA (F30/F31) mechanism that does not provide their entire departmental or program stipend. Pre-doctoral students with funding from any external agency are encouraged to apply with the understanding that students funded by NIH NRSAs or T32s are given preference.

Students who are awarded CCTS Pre-doctoral Support for Translational Research will be provided up to two years of partial stipend support equivalent to the differential between their NIH funded stipend and their department/program stipend. Trainees will be expected to devote full time to their research during the period of support.

Applications for the REACH Pre-doctoral Support for Translational Research Program are accepted on a rolling basis, with review and notice of funding occurring within 6 weeks of submission. For the RFA click here, for the Application Form click here.

The 2012 Pre-doctoral Support for Translational Research Awardees
Lila Gollogly Glotfelty, MD/PhD Candidate in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology (COM)
Jonathan Waxman, MD/PhD Candidate in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering (LAS)

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