# Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) Program at Children's National

> **NIH NIH K12** · CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE · 2021 · $225,708

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The purpose of the Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) Program at the Children’s
National Hospital (CNH) is to facilitate the development of successful basic, translational, and clinical research
careers for junior faculty members in pediatrics across the T0-T4 spectrum. The rationale for the program is
that while many opportunities exist to use molecular biology, biomedical engineering, and translational science
to advance treatment of pediatric diseases, the comprehensive scientific knowledge and practical experience
that are required to capitalize on these opportunities are often deficient among young pediatrician-investigators
who have recently finished extended periods of clinical training. The CHRCDA at CNH addresses this need by
providing sufficient protected time for nascent scientists during their initial academic appointment. In our
program, scholars will: 1) take coursework in basic, translational, or clinical science areas relevant to their
research; 2) learn state-of-the art laboratory and computational methodologies; 3) develop preliminary data
under the supervision of established and committed mentors that will lead to submission of independent NIH
grant applications; and 4) learn to effectively advance accomplishments in basic, translational, and clinical
research into improvements in child health. In order to accomplish these goals, the CHRCDA scholars will
spend at least 75% effort honing these skills under the mentorship of established investigators/mentors over a
2-4 year period (depending on past experience and area of investigation). During this period, each of the
above tasks will be addressed in a systematic fashion, including participation in a core curriculum in research
methodology and biostatistics, in training in responsible conduct of research, and in performance of
increasingly independent research under supervising senior investigators. We will fund three scholars annually
at the Assistant Professor level with a specific goal of enhancing scholar diversity through aggressive outreach
and recruitment. We will have 21 senior mentors in four scientific affinity groups: neuroscience, molecular
genetics, cancer and immunology, and biomedical engineering. The administrative structure will include two
Principal Investigators/Program Directors, a Training Director, an Executive Committee, and an external
Advisory Committee. The outcomes of this program will be measured by the products of the scholars’
subsequent academic careers: publications and independent external grant support. In this renewal application
we introduce several innovations including: expansion of funded research to include T2-T4 science with
recruitment of a cadre of appropriate mentors, new pipeline programs to increase our pool of candidates
including two R38 awards to fund research among pediatric residents, significant capital investments including
the new Children’s National Research and Innovation campus, adaptations fo...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10225757
- **Project number:** 2K12HD001399-21
- **Recipient organization:** CHILDREN'S RESEARCH INSTITUTE
- **Principal Investigator:** Robert J Freishtat
- **Activity code:** K12 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $225,708
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2001-09-25 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10225757

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10225757, Child Health Research Career Development Award (CHRCDA) Program at Children's National (2K12HD001399-21). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10225757. Licensed CC0.

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