# CTSA Graduate Program

> **NIH NIH TL1** · TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON · 2021 · $827,005

## Abstract

The success of the biomedical research enterprise depends upon a robust pipeline of scientists with diverse
expertise, well-trained in the core competencies of clinical and translational science (CTS). Major threats to this
pipeline include the mismatch between the needs of the modern research workforce and the narrow training
received in most biomedical PhD programs. Additionally, clinicians face an increasingly difficult transition to
stable career development funding without rigorous research training. For almost two decades, the Tufts
Sackler CTS Graduate Program, the training core of Tufts CTSI, has successfully trained clinician-scientists
across the spectrum of translational research, emphasizing later stages of translation (T2-T4) with a broad
impact on health. With this CTSA renewal, we will substantially expand and enhance our TL1 Program
commensurate to the growth of Tufts CTSI to meet the larger training needs, building on the history of
excellence in our MS/PhD CTS Program, by the following aims: AIM 1) we will provide rigorous training in the
core competencies of CTS to a diverse set of scholars, including more PhD-trained biomedical scientists. We
will leverage the broadened partnerships of the Tufts CTSI, including the Tufts University Sackler School, the
Jackson Laboratory, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and Northeastern University, and a
strengthened connection to the Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. AIM 2) we will expand
the mentoring and research experiences to enhance the individual development plans of TL1 fellows and all
CTS Graduate Program students. This will include offering four specialized TL1 tracks, emphasizing
institutional strengths: Comparative Effectiveness Research; One Health; Drug and Device Development;
Health Policy. We will also establish innovative research externships – based at partner institutions and around
Boston’s rich biotech hub – and new seminars and studios on topics critical for success in the modern
translational workforce, including stakeholder/community engagement, team science, rigor and transparency,
academic-industry partnerships, and clinical trial innovations. We will equip clinician-scientists and biomedical
PhD scientists with the skills and experience necessary to succeed in an environment that has shifted to
broadly-engaged, team-based translational research.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10159335
- **Project number:** 5TL1TR002546-04
- **Recipient organization:** TUFTS UNIVERSITY BOSTON
- **Principal Investigator:** DAVID M KENT
- **Activity code:** TL1 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $827,005
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10159335

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10159335, CTSA Graduate Program (5TL1TR002546-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10159335. Licensed CC0.

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