# Developmental Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · DUKE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $711,744

## Abstract

ABSTRACT- Developmental Core
The Developmental Core will offer a collaborative and nurturing environment for training and mentoring of young
investigators who are in the structural biology field. This Core will serve both Center-affiliated and non-Center
affiliated investigators with an interest in HIV-1 structural biology. The development of trainees into successful
and independent scientific professionals will be fostered through customized curricula, mentoring activities,
access to state-of-the-art technologies through workshops and training programs conducted by the three
Scientific Cores of the Center. The Developmental Core will benefit from the existing training and mentoring
environments at the participating institutions. These include the Duke Human Vaccine Institute Training and
Mentoring Program (DTMP), the Duke CFAR Developmental Core, the Vanderbilt Program in Computational
Microbiology and Immunology, the University of Texas Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Graduate Programs, NIH
T32 training programs and other such training and mentoring programs. Through close networking with existing
programs in the different partner institutions, we will augment our training resources to expand the orbit of the
trainees beyond their own institutions. The Specific Aims of the Developmental Core are to 1) expand trainees'
knowledgebase and confidence through the use of customized curricula and technology; 2) to organize
seminars, journal clubs, short courses, mock study sections, and grant writing workshops. The Developmental
activities of the Center will include methods-focused workshops designed to leverage the expertise and strengths
of each Scientific Core to facilitate cross-training and skill development of students, postdoctoral fellows and
early career scientists; 3) recruit diverse early career investigators for innovative pilot research projects that will
broaden the scientific scope and diversity of investigators in the program. A Collaborative Development Award
(CDA) program will be instituted to fund specific pilot research projects aligned with the goals of the Center.
These funds will support early career HIV investigators and investigators new to the HIV research field who are
not associated with the Center. The Developmental Core will work closely with the Projects and Scientific Cores
to identify training and skill development opportunities, as well as new technologies that will augment the existing
scientific resources of the Center. These interactions will drive the development of training resources within the
Center, at the same time fostering collaborations to bring on board new investigators into the Center. Mentoring
activities of the Center, led by the Developmental Core, will contribute to the training of the next generation of
HIV researchers, and will generate a rich compilation of workshops and training modules that will be made
publicly available to assist in the development of similar programs in the future.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10506663
- **Project number:** 1U54AI170752-01
- **Recipient organization:** DUKE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Maria Blasi
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $711,744
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-14 → 2027-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10506663

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10506663, Developmental Core (1U54AI170752-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10506663. Licensed CC0.

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