BIRCWH (Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health) K12 Program

Background

The University of Kansas was founded in 1864. The main University of Kansas campus consists of 950 acres atop historic Mount Oread in Lawrence, Kansas. The University of Kansas serves as a major comprehensive research and teaching institution as well as a center for learning, scholarship, and creative endeavor. The University of Kansas Medical Center (KUMC) is located in Kansas City, Kansas, spans 50 acres, and is located approximately 35 miles from the main University of Kansas campus in Lawrence. KUMC includes, in addition to the School of Medicine, Schools of Allied Health, Nursing and Graduate Studies. The School of Pharmacy is located on the main campus in Lawrence and at the Medical Center campus in Kansas City.

Among the faculty at the University of Kansas are a group of very talented scientists pursuing women’s health research. The existence of this talented research base in women’s health has ignited the interest of our leadership resulting in the development of a plan for interdisciplinary women’s health research at the University of Kansas. This grant application represents the concerted efforts of faculty from the Schools of Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing, and Pharmacy.

Areas of research emphasis at KUMC are organized into research centers and research institutes. Membership includes faculty from both KUMC and the University of Kansas Lawrence. Five research centers/research institutes with scientific investigative activities related to women’s health exist and include: (i) Kansas Masonic Cancer Research Institute; (ii) Institute of Maternal-Fetal Biology; (iii) Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Center; (iv) Center for Reproductive Sciences; and (v) Landon Center on Aging. Within these centers/institutes are research efforts that fit well with the themes for research on women’s health outlined in the BIRCWH RFA. The newly established Women’s Health Research Initiative links these centers/institutes and provides the administrative umbrella for the KUMC BIRCWH K12 faculty development program.

Relationship of women’s health research to other research activities at the University of Kansas.

Purpose

The purpose of the KUMC BIRCWH K12 Faculty Development Program is to formally establish and strengthen the women’s health research enterprise at the University of Kansas. The goal of the effort is to promote interdisciplinary research and transfer findings that will benefit the health of women, including sex/gender similarities or differences in biology, health or disease. The KUMC BIRCWH K12 Program will accomplish this task by providing advanced training, career guidance, and transition to independence for junior faculty pursuing interdisciplinary research in women’s health. Junior faculty participating in the KUMC BIRCWH K12 Program will be referred to as Interdisciplinary Women’s Health Research (IWHR) Scholars.

Objectives of the Career Development Program

Objective I - Faculty Recruitment: Over the five-year project period, increase by at least eight the number of junior level (assistant professor) faculty hired in tenure-track positions pursuing women’s health research.

Objective II – Faculty Development: Provide a flexible faculty development plan tailored to meet the needs of each newly recruited IWHR Scholar with the goal of a successful grant submission targeted to women’s health research by no later then the end of the second year.

Objective III – Faculty Retention: Closely monitor progress of each IWHR Scholar while they are supported by the BIRCWH K12 Program and following their graduation to ensure career development in women’s health research.

Criteria for Candidate Evaluation and Selection

The Internal Advisory Committee of the KUMC BIRCWH K12 Program will be responsible for IWHR Scholar candidate evaluation and selection. Eligibility requirements for prospective IWHR Scholars will be monitored by the Program Director.

Eligibility Requirements:

• Clinical doctorate or Ph.D. equivalent
• Completion of postgraduate training required for a faculty appointment
• At the time of application, no more than six years of research training experience beyond their doctoral degree
• A faculty appointment in the School of Allied Health, Medicine, Nursing or Pharmacy
• Commitment of salary support, laboratory space, research start-up package, and 75% protected effort towards women’s health research from an appropriate School or Research Institute
• The Department, School, Research Center, and/or Research Institute is expected, when necessary, to supplement the BIRCWH salary contribution to a level that is consistent with the KUMC salary scale. Institutional supplementation of a salary will not include duties or responsibilities that would interfere with the BIRCWH Program. This agreement is needed to ensure that the IWHR Scholar has a salary consistent with salaries for other junior faculty in his/her department.
• The incoming IWHR Scholar can not be a funded investigator with RO1, R29, or subproject grants in program project or center grants

The IWHR Scholar must be a United States citizen or non-citizen national, or have legal admission into the United States as a permanent citizen.

Responsibilities of the IWHR Scholar, Mentor and Home Department

1. The IWHR Scholar will have at least 75% protected time for research in women’s health while supported by the BIRCWH K12 Program.
2. The IWHR Scholar and ‘Lead’ Mentor will provide semi-annual progress reports while actively supported by the BIRCWH K12 Program and annual progress reports following graduation from the Program.
3. The Home Department, Research Center, and/or Research Institute will provide laboratory space and resources for continued faculty development after the IWHR Scholar graduates from the BIRCWH K12 Program.

The prospective IWHR Scholar and proposed ‘Lead’ Mentor will meet with the Program Director to review all rules and responsibilities associated with the KUMC BIRCWH K12 Faculty Development Program. Special emphasis will be placed on the role of the ‘Lead’ Mentor in providing career guidance and direction during and after graduation from the BIRCWH K12 Program.

Application Process:

Eligible applicants for appointment as IWHR Scholars will be asked to:

1. identify a ‘Lead Mentor’;
2. execute a ‘Preliminary Agreement’ (PDF) ; and
3. prepare a ‘Faculty Development Plan’ (PDF).

‘Lead’ Mentor Identification
The first requirement for appointment as an IWHR Scholar will be the identification of a ‘Lead’ Mentor from the list of mentors associated with the KUMC BIRCWH K12 Program (see below).

Preliminary Agreement (PDF)
The prospective IWHR Scholar, ‘Lead’ Mentor, the prospective IWHR Scholar’s Departmental Division Director and Chair, the Dean of the respective School, and the Director of the Research Center or Research Institute, if applicable, will be asked to sign a formal agreement attesting to their willingness to comply with all rules and regulations of the BIRCWH K12 Program.

Faculty Development Plan (PDF)
The prospective IWHR Scholar and the ‘Lead’ Mentor will be asked to provide a written faculty development plan. The first step in developing the plan will be identifying the mentor team. The prospective IWHR Scholar and the ‘Lead’ Mentor will name at least one co-mentor and maximally two co-mentors. The mentor team for each IWHR Scholar will be required to include at least one member of the Internal Advisory Committee. Collectively the prospective IWHR Scholar and mentor team will prepare a five-year faculty development plan: including information on proposed didactic training, especially grant writing and research ethics; a research plan; scientific meetings to be attended; target dates for grant submissions and types of grants to be submitted; and frequency of planned meetings with the mentor team. The prospective IWHR Scholar, the mentors, the prospective IWHR Scholar’s Departmental Division Director and Chair, the Dean of the respective School, and the Director of the Research Center or Research Institute, if applicable, will be asked to approve the prospective IWHR Scholar’s Faculty Development Plan. Following approval, the prospective IWHR Scholar’s Faculty Development Plan will be submitted to the Internal Advisory Committee for review, along with NIH Biosketches from the prospective IWHR Scholar and mentors, and letters from the Department Chair and/or Research Center/Research Institute Director outlining the departmental and/or research center/research institute commitment to the prospective IWHR Scholar.

IWHR Scholar Selection:
Selection will be based on an assessment of the candidate’s potential for developing an independent research program in women’s health, including the School, Department, and Research Center or Institute’s commitment to their IWHR Scholar. Appointments will be for a minimum of one year, with possibility of renewable annually (competitive renewal) for up to five years total, dependent upon satisfactory progress.

Call for Applications