The Clinical Research Training Center (CRTC) is an element of the education and workforce development arm of the ICTS. The CRTC supports the advancement of the next generation of interdisciplinary research leaders, providing opportunities to meet the needs of our clinical and translational workforce at different career stages.
Housed at Washington University, the CRTC has the physical infrastructure and dedicated staff to support various training programs available to WU and ICTS partner institution members. These programs span the translational research career spectrum from undergraduate students to predocs, postdocs, junior and senior faculty.
Programs include:
Advanced Summer Program for Investigation and Research Education (ASPIRE): This eight-week program provides current college students with an introduction to medical research at the Washington University School of Medicine.
Short-Term Research Experience Program to Unlock Potential (STEP-UP): The STEP-UP Program was created to provide an intensive, high-quality, educational, and mentored-research summer experience to build and enhance the diversity of the biomedical, behavioral, clinical and social science research workforce in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) mission areas. This ten-week intensive program will provide training in NIDDK-related research for undergraduate scholars under-represented in medicine (URiM) from Washington University and partnering institutions around the country.
TL1 Clinical Research Program: The TL1 Predoctoral Program at Washington University provides career development for medical and allied healthcare doctoral students through didactic coursework, mentored training, work-in-progress research discussions, journal clubs, and conferences.
The TL1 program offers the following options:
- Summer Predoctoral Program: Two-month research core (6/1 – 7/31)
- One-Year Research Core (Intensive) Predoctoral Program: Twelve-month research core
- Two-Year Research Core (Standard) Predoctoral Program: 1 – 2 year (9 month minimum) appointment concurrent with the student’s doctoral degree program.
Applications are accepted November – February for a June start date.
- TL1 Translational Sciences Postdoctoral Program (TSPP): The objective of the TL1 TSPP at Washington University is to demystify the processes of dissemination and implementation of best evidence and/or commercialization of new technology/translational discoveries. Trainees participate in one of four tracks: Entrepreneurship, Research Innovation and Technology Transfer, Dissemination and Implementation, and the Postdoctoral Program for MD or MD/PhD Clinical Fellows.
- Postdoctoral Mentored Training Program in Clinical Investigation (MTPCI): The Mentored Training Program in Clinical Investigation (MTPCI) provides multidisciplinary clinical and translational research training to promote the career development of junior faculty and postdoctoral fellows by helping them become clinical and translational researchers.
Applications are accepted January – April for a July start date and September – November for a January start date.
KL2 Career Development Awards Program: The KL2 Career Development Program provides high quality, multidisciplinary training in clinical and translational research to promote the career development of future clinical and translational investigators. This program provides financial support and benefits that allow scholars to focus on mentored, multidisciplinary research, supplemented by applicable coursework.
Applications are accepted for two annual cycles, with Spring and Fall deadlines for submission.
Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI): The MSCI degree is an innovative, 33-credit program that provides scholars with the necessary skills and knowledge to excel in clinical research and the academic environment. The MSCI combines high-quality advanced coursework with a substantive research project, weekly seminars, and a formal mentorship program. Scholars gain knowledge in the core competencies of clinical research and investigation, including study design, research implementation, statistical analysis, scientific communication, literature critique, leadership, Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) and rigor and reproducibility, as well as opportunities for community engagement relevant to MDs, PhDs, and doctoral students from diverse disciplines.
Applications are accepted in two annual cycles for Summer or Winter start dates.