# Professional Development Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR · 2024 · $809,878

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY - PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CORE. Mississippi has perhaps the greatest
need for strong clinical and translational (C/T) research programs in the country. We have the highest rates of
obesity and associated chronic diseases in the nation and tremendous opportunities to better understand the
causes and consequences of these diseases, especially in our large minority population which suffers from a
high rate of poverty, inadequate access to health care, and major health care disparities. The Professional
Development Core (PDC) of the Mississippi Center for Translational Research (MCCTR) will help address
Mississippi's health challenges by increasing the number of clinical and translational (C/T) investigators and
health care providers with sustainable research programs focused on chronic diseases and health outcomes. A
consortium of 5 Mississippi institutions along with CTR/CTSA institutions in Alabama, Louisiana, Minnesota,
and Illinois has been developed to provide new opportunities for synergistic, multidisciplinary research
collaborations in large, diverse patient populations as well as unique training programs for early stage
investigators (ESIs). In Phase II, the PDC will enhance the Clinical/Translational Research Scholars (CTRS)
Program, the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation Program, and Pipeline C/T Research Training
Programs to increase the number of and diversity of independent, highly productive C/T researchers focused
on important chronic diseases in Mississippi. The PDC will also enhance the Mentor Academy for ESIs and
mid-career faculty members to become more effective researchers and career mentors. The PDC has
developed several new programs, including a Faculty Exchange and Training Program (FETP), to promote
transdisciplinary and multi-institutional collaborations among MCCTR investigators and external CTR/CTSA
partner institutions. The FETP, along with a MCCTR-COBRE seminar series and frequent Work-in-Progress
meetings of investigators in the MCCTR and collaborating institutions will provide unique opportunities for
team-based C/T research and for improving the health of the people they serve. A new MCCTR Faculty
Recruitment Program has also been developed to more rapidly increase the number of established C/T
researchers in Mississippi who have demonstrated excellent mentoring skills, success of obtaining extramural
research funding, and expertise in emerging technologies, epidemiology, outcomes and community-engaged
research, and bioinformatics where there are currently gaps in MCCTR faculty expertise. Through these new
initiatives created, organized, and delivered by the MCCTR, Mississippi will have its first ever state-wide
initiative designed to build coordinated and synergistic programs among all of its major academic institutions,
focused exclusively on increasing Mississippi's C/T science workforce and improving health care of its people.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10927406
- **Project number:** 5U54GM115428-09
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI MED CTR
- **Principal Investigator:** John E Hall
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $809,878
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2016-08-18 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10927406

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10927406, Professional Development Core (5U54GM115428-09). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10927406. Licensed CC0.

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