# Professional Development Core

> **NIH NIH U54** · MAINEHEALTH · 2020 · $197,066

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Achieving the goal of the IDeA-CTR Program to improve our nation's health requires that the research
establishment recruit and effectively train scientists and physicians to collaboratively conduct cutting edge
clinical and translational biomedical research. Accordingly, the mission of the Northern New England Clinical
and Translational Research Network's Professional Development Core (PDC) is to develop robust mentoring
programs and novel, effective educational offerings that increase the number and the productivity of those
engaged in clinical and translational research in our region. Several important principles will guide the
development of the PDC. These will include: (i) a strong focus on developing educational offerings and
mentoring programs that take advantage of the diverse strengths of our institutions and their faculty; (ii) the
development of specific educational programs and resources that prioritize and actively “catalyze”, team
science, thus enhancing our ability to initiate and manage complex multidisciplinary and multi-institutional
translational research projects; (iii) the development of innovative team-based “mosaic” mentoring models that
recognize the complex mix of professional expectations placed on clinical investigators; (iv) a commitment to
bringing more practicing clinicians into the investigative arena to take advantage of their clinical expertise and
access to potential research subjects; and (v) the recognition that our education and mentorship programs
must facilitate a bi-directional flow of ideas and information within our institutions and our region. The PDC will
accomplish these goals by addressing the following specific aims: 1) to enhance the capabilities of basic
scientists and collaborating physicians to conceive, participate in and manage multidisciplinary and bi-
directional bench-to-bedside translational research projects; 2) to develop flexible, but rigorous and
coordinated educational and training programs to enhance the research competency and participation of
clinicians based within varied practice settings and disciplines and with a diverse set of professional goals; 3)
to take advantage of the rich supply of mentors at our differing institutions, so as to develop a novel, team-
based, mosaic mentorship model that provides guidance and enduring support to mentees with diverse needs
and professional goals in order to actively facilitate their success; and 4) to develop a unique certificate
program for training PhD and masters level scientists to become clinical and translational research catalysts or
community practice-based research catalysts as a defined career path to enhance the national capacity for
conducting clinical and translational research. Achieving these specific aims will strongly enhance our ability to
foster collaborative, multidisciplinary clinical and translational biomedical research across Northern New
England.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9969546
- **Project number:** 5U54GM115516-04
- **Recipient organization:** MAINEHEALTH
- **Principal Investigator:** Donald Louis St Germain
- **Activity code:** U54 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $197,066
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** — → —

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9969546

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9969546, Professional Development Core (5U54GM115516-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9969546. Licensed CC0.

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