UK COM Physician-Scientist Program

Program Overview:
The specific focus of the UK College of Medicine Physician-Scientist Program is to support promising junior faculty members of the college in the early stages of career development in basic, clinical (non-patient-oriented/lack direct patient contact), and translational research. The aim of the program is to facilitate the development of Physician-Scientist who will develop Independent Scientific careers. This program will provide salary support for the faculty member up to a maximum of $75,000 per year for a maximum of 3 years. This program will be administered in accordance with NIH policy.

General questions regarding the program or concerning the application process may be directed to Dr. Alan Daugherty at alan.daugherty@uky.edu.

Program Eligibility Requirements:
Candidates for the program must meet the following criteria.

1. Doctoral level clinician practitioner;
2. Academic appointment as an instructor, assistant professor or, in exceptional cases, an associate professor;
3. Interest in and commitment to a clinical/translational academic career; and
4. Clinical privileges at University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital.

Deadline
Application submission - March 1, 2012.

Application Format:
Candidates should submit a single PDF of the completed application to: Alan Daugherty, Ph.D., D.Sc., Senior Associate Dean for Research, alan.daugherty@uky.edu

1. Candidate’s Statement describing the candidate’s qualifications, commitment to a career in clinical and/or translational research; commitment of 75 percent of total professional effort to the career development activities; and justification for the need for mentored training. (maximum – 1 pages)
2. Career Development Plan with short- and long-term career goals; and details of the didactic and experiential training proposed to achieve the goal of the program – submission of a competitive extramural funding. (maximum 1 pages)
3. Research Plan in NIH format. (maximum – 10 pages)
4. Mentor’s Statement & Mentoring Plan describing the mentor’s scientific qualifications and experience as a mentor; extent and quality of his/her proposed role in guiding and advising the candidate; history of research productivity and support. (maximum – 1 pages per mentor)
5. Departmental/Divisional Commitment from the division chief and department chairperson detailing the facilities; resources and training opportunities being made available to the candidate; the source(s) of funding for the candidate’s research and the guarantee that the candidate will have a minimum of 75 percent time of his/her total professional effort protected for the proposed career development activities during the 3 year period of the award. (maximum – 1 page). DOEs must reflect this commitment throughout the funding interval.
6. NIH-style Biosketch of the candidate
7. NIH-style Biosketch of each mentor

The application should be constructed following the aforementioned page limitations. All margins and font sizes are to conform to NIH regulations. Incomplete applications may be returned to the applicant un-reviewed.

Review Criteria and Evaluation:
All applications will be reviewed by the UK College of Medicine Physician-Scientist Committee. The committee holds the right to interview the most promising applicants. The committee will place particular emphasis on the following aspects of each application.

1. The candidate’s promise to develop a competitive application for independent extramural grant support.
2. The candidate’s promise to ultimately develop as an independent clinical and/or translational researcher.
3. The quality and extent of the candidate’s mentor(s) and the mentored experience.
4. The commitment of the candidate’s division/department to his/her career development including the provision of adequate resources and protected time.

The committee will consider applications from associate professors in exceptional cases and the justification for the exception must be made in the candidate’s and the mentor’s statements.

The committee will develop mechanisms for the review of all funded scholars including but not limited to:

1. Annual progress reports;
2. Participation in Physician-Scientist Program activities:
1. Research Conferences hosted by UK’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS);
2. Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series;
3. CTS Seminar Series hosted by the CCTS;
4. Biannual Dean's Physician-Scientist scholar meeting;
3. Construction of a K08 application during the course of the program’s support.

Physician Scientist Committee

• Michael B. Reid (Chair)
• Jay Ambati
• Dennis Bruemmer
• Franca Cambi
• Mark Evers
• Timothy Mullett
• John Slevin
• Susan Smyth
• Gerald Supinski
• Alan Daugherty (ex officio)

PREVIOUS AWARD RECIPIENTS ARE LISTED HERE