History of the VPCAT Research Scholars Program
We are a two-year, holistic faculty mentoring program that supports early-stage faculty members engaged in clinical and translational research in transitioning to accomplished principal investigators. The program is housed in the Office of the Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Education.
VPCAT began in July 2007, when Drs. Carrie Byington and Heather Keenan piloted a holistic, unique mentoring program in the Department of Pediatrics. They recognized mentorship as a critical component for retaining faculty and, importantly, addressing the declining number of physician-scientists and clinical and translational researchers. Formerly titled Pediatric Clinical and Translational (PCAT) Research Scholars Program, the 2-year program aimed to support women and child early-stage faculty by providing scholars intensive mentorship using an innovative mentoring framework created by Dr. Byington called the Matrix Mentoring Model. In addition to the Department of Pediatrics, PCAT supported child health investigators in the Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology and Surgery and the College of Nursing. Due to its critical success, in January 2013, the program was expanded and rebranded to the Vice President’s Clinical & Translational (VPCAT) Research Scholars Program. Through our initial expansion, we began supporting scholars from all departments in the Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine and the Health Sciences, including the School of Dentistry and Colleges of Health, Nursing, and Pharmacy. We then expanded our program University-wide, allowing us to support clinical and translational researchers on Main Campus, including the Colleges of Mines & Earth Sciences, Social & Behavioral Science, and Social Work. We also support scholars from external Utah Clinical & Translational Science Institute (CTSI) partners, including Intermountain Healthcare, and several institutional K programs, including the Utah Women’s Reproductive Research Career Development Program (WRHR) K12 Program. What was once a pilot program now serves as the University of Utah’s signature mentoring program that has increased the University’s research capacity and national standing.
A vital component of our program’s success is the Matrix Mentoring Model. The model is a holistic matrix framework that creates a nurturing environment that fosters accountability, communication, and learning to produce empowered principal investigators through five synergistic types of mentorship. These include: Self mentorship—a central component of the model where scholars are taught to engage in self-reflection to determine professional priorities and goals; Scientific mentorship—led by a primary mentor, the scientific mentorship team provides scientific skills and expertise; Peer mentorship—peer-mentoring groups, developed through the VPCAT curriculum, span the length of the program and include regular peer-to-peer networking sessions organized around relevant topics; Senior mentorship—experienced grant-funded faculty assigned by the program who provide academic career guidance, scholar advocacy, and familiarity with institutional resources, with 10% of their effort dedicated to, and supported by, the program; and Staff mentorship—experienced program staff help scholars appreciate the time and resources required for successful grant submissions and the indispensable roles staff will play in their success as principal investigators.
Our primary goals are to 1) support clinical and translational investigators, 2) enhance research quality, and 3) assist junior investigators in obtaining significant extramural funding. Scholars are assigned a senior VPCAT mentor to serve in a career and research mentor capacity, each of whom we selected for their extensive experience. Over the program period, scholars participate in our structured curriculum focused on leadership competencies, scientific career development, and grant writing and management. We also provide support for access and costs associated with multiple institutional resources, including biostatisticians within the Utah CTSI, Utah CTSI Master of Science in Clinical Investigation courses, grant writing workshops, and the University of Utah Associate Vice President for Health Sciences Office of Faculty’s Leadership & Career Development Seminar Series. Importantly, scholars have access to our senior research manager for pre-award and grant management mentorship, including 2 days of reserved time for grant editing and formatting reviews and initial grant submission consultations.
Overall, our resources and support better equip scholars to understand their short- and long-term goals, utilize mentorship and resource networks, and enhance their leadership and management skills to better function as principal investigators.
