# Networking Core

> **NIH NIH U2C** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $23,874

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY: NETWORK CORE
Professional advancement of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows is critical to assure a sustained
research workforce and to inspire a new generation of trainees. Too often, graduate students and postdoctoral
fellows are isolated, unaware of opportunities available to them and lack access to cross-disciplinary mentors.
These factors could contribute to the intertwined challenges in recruitment, advancement and retention of
trainees. The 6 public and private academic institutions that compose the interdisciplinary Chicago Kidney
Urology Hematology network FOR city-Wide reseArch tRaining and career Development (Chicago KUH
FORWARD) are deeply committed to developing a city-wide environment encompassing a continuum of
education, training and career development, within which aspiring researchers have access to ideas,
successful role models, peer trainees, scientific information, and methodological support. The primary goal of
the Network Core is to foster a vibrant community, in which trainees will feel valued, supported and connected
and will be eager to pay it forward through interactions with high school, college and medical students.
Strategies to accomplish the Core's objectives include cultivation of a dynamic community of trainees who will
develop kinship with peers, alumni and mentors through professional and social interactions; creation of
personal support teams of peers and near-peers to guide career development; maintenance of continuous
interactions through electronic platforms; and contribution to high school, college and medical student outreach
activities. The Specific Aims of the Core are: 1) To cultivate an engaged, supportive and inclusive city-wide
KUH community by connecting trainees professionally and socially with peers, research training alumni and
mentors; 2) To promote creation of support teams for career guidance by facilitating small group sessions for
peer and near-peer mentoring and coaching; 3) To enhance connectivity, collaboration and career
development by creating an online portal for sustained trainee interaction; 4) To attract new talent to KUH
research by exposing participants of existing outreach programs to Chicago KUH FORWARD trainees. The
Network Core will be co-led by Drs. William Schnaper and Luisa Iruela-Arispe, whose collective experiences in
mentoring trainees will serve them well in overseeing the implementation, management and evaluation of the
Specific Aims. Drs. Schnaper and Iruela-Arispe will be assisted by experts in peer mentoring and coaching and
leaders of high school, college and medical schools outreach programs. 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
Professional Development and Training Cores. In synergizing with existing KUH events in Chicago and robust
...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10285158
- **Project number:** 1U2CDK129917-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** H WILLIAM SCHNAPER
- **Activity code:** U2C (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $23,874
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-15 → 2026-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10285158

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10285158, Networking Core (1U2CDK129917-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-21 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10285158. Licensed CC0.

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