# Professional Development Core

> **NIH NIH U2C** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $28,458

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORE
The incorporation of professional development education into current pre- and postdoctoral training programs
requires a paradigm shift from outdated strategies that rely on passive didactic learning environments or top-
down training from a single mentor. The Professional Development Core of the Chicago Kidney Urology
Hematology network FOR city-Wide reseArch tRaining and career Development (Chicago KUH FORWARD)
will augment cross-disciplinary mentorship and hands-on research experiences with a transformative
professional development program that leverages adult learning theory, emphasizes active participation
through faculty- and peer-led small group settings and deploys experiential learning approaches for career
development training. The overarching goal of the Professional Development Core is to advance the
professional skills of trainees essential for ensuring successful careers in the KUH fields. Strategies to
accomplish the Core's objectives include active learning in small group settings; opportunities for acquisition of
discipline-specific and interdisciplinary knowledge and new skills in team science, technology innovation and
entrepreneurship; individualized career planning; and tailored experiences that encourage career exploration in
a cross-disciplinary setting. The deliberately selected Core activities form a rich matrix of professional
development resources that map to the Chicago KUH FORWARD basic and interdisciplinary core
competencies. The Specific Aims of the Core are: 1) To build professional skills using an active learner model
that leverages both faculty-to-trainee and peer-to-peer interactions; 2) To deliver both core and tailored didactic
programs for the acquisition of new knowledge and skills to enhance trainee competitiveness in the transition
to independent investigator; 3) To enhance career exploration and planning that optimizes post-training
placement, career satisfaction, sustained professional development, and contribution to the KUH fields; and 4)
To train faculty mentors to adopt mentoring best practices and to provide mentorship training to trainees. The
Professional Development Core will be co-led by Drs. Aline Martin and Robert Liem, whose collective
experiences in mentoring trainees across the spectrum of career development will serve them well in
overseeing the implementation, management and evaluation of the Specific Aims. Drs. Martin and Liem will be
assisted by experts in teaching grant writing skills to trainees, STEM education, interdisciplinary graduate
training, and mentor development. Continuous cycles of evaluations and refinement of strategic approaches
will ensure that Core activities are well integrated across all institutions, in line with overall vision and mission
of Chicago KUH FORWARD and complement the goals of the Network and Training Cores. In synergizing
with Chicagoland CTSA-funded institutions and the NIGMS-funded Postdoc Academy, the Pr...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10285157
- **Project number:** 1U2CDK129917-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Aline C Martin
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $28,458
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10285157

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10285157, Professional Development Core (1U2CDK129917-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10285157. Licensed CC0.

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