2025 YCCI Multidisciplinary Pre-Doctoral Training Program Applicant Information Webinar

Transcript

• 00:01Everybody.
• 00:02Welcome. Thank you so much
• 00:03for joining.
• 00:05Feel free to take your,
• 00:07video off and engage and
• 00:09interrupt and ask questions as
• 00:11you have them.
• 00:13Christine and I are really
• 00:14excited to be here to
• 00:15talk about the predoctoral training
• 00:17program application.
• 00:19I'm Jen Edelman, and I'm
• 00:20joined by Christine con cast
• 00:22Constantino.
• 00:23I just slaughtered your name,
• 00:24Christine. Sorry. It's okay. Alright.
• 00:27Let's kick it off.
• 00:30So here is the agenda
• 00:31for our time together. We'll
• 00:33share with you briefly just
• 00:35our leadership structure and our
• 00:36support teams, talk through the
• 00:39multidisciplinary pre doc training program,
• 00:41the eligibility requirements.
• 00:43We wanna make sure you're
• 00:44clear on the areas of
• 00:45special emphasis and the application
• 00:47process,
• 00:48and then we'll have time
• 00:49for questions and answers.
• 00:52Next slide, please.
• 00:54So just so you guys
• 00:55are aware, I know some
• 00:56of you are already involved
• 00:57with the program, so, hopefully,
• 00:58this is very familiar to
• 01:00you.
• 01:00This is our educational leadership
• 01:02team. So, Jen Edelman,
• 01:05as you see here, and
• 01:07then Lloyd Cantley, Jean Shapiro,
• 01:09and Sheryl Balami are part
• 01:10of our leadership team. Lloyd,
• 01:13for those of you
• 01:14who are unaware, is housed
• 01:16in the department of nephrology.
• 01:18It and,
• 01:19department of medicine in the
• 01:20section of nephrology
• 01:22and cellular and molecular physiology.
• 01:24Jean is in general pedes
• 01:26and ID and epidemiology, and
• 01:28Cheryl
• 01:29is in psychiatry
• 01:30and has joined the leadership
• 01:32team in her role as
• 01:34of diversity, equity,
• 01:37accessibility,
• 01:37inclusion, and belonging.
• 01:40Next slide, please.
• 01:44And I'll talk about our
• 01:46education support team. So I'm
• 01:48Christine Costantino.
• 01:50I'm the project manager for
• 01:51training and education.
• 01:53And I'll be the person
• 01:55who will be your primary,
• 01:58contact person regarding
• 02:00this program and your application.
• 02:03But we recently had Rebecca
• 02:05Cepeda join our team. She's
• 02:07on the call today as
• 02:09well.
• 02:10She's, also a project manager
• 02:12for research administration.
• 02:15You may also hear from,
• 02:18Stephanie Tabaka.
• 02:19She is one of our
• 02:20clinical research interns,
• 02:23and we are supported by
• 02:25Helen Seow, our associate director.
• 02:29And what Christine did not
• 02:30share is that Christine knows
• 02:32everything in the ins and
• 02:33outs of the program and
• 02:34an incredible resource.
• 02:37I don't always know the
• 02:38answer, but I will find
• 02:40the answer for for you.
• 02:42Exactly.
• 02:44So thank you. Okay. Next
• 02:46slide. So in terms of
• 02:48the structure of the program,
• 02:50the awards,
• 02:51and this is specifically as
• 02:52it relates to the predoctoral
• 02:53training program, there's also
• 02:55opportunities for postdoctoral trainees and
• 02:58junior faculty through the k
• 03:00mechanism. But we're focusing today
• 03:01on the predoctoral program.
• 03:03The awards are for predoctor
• 03:05trainees who specifically wanna pursue
• 03:08careers in clinical and translational
• 03:10research.
• 03:11The program focuses on providing
• 03:13trainees the opportunity to develop
• 03:15and participate in multidisciplinary
• 03:17team research with the mentorship
• 03:19of Yale faculty in two
• 03:21or more disciplines.
• 03:23And the awards are for
• 03:24one year with the option
• 03:25to reapply for a second
• 03:26year of support.
• 03:28So, again, just to emphasize,
• 03:29it's really intended to be
• 03:31multidisciplinary
• 03:32with mentorship in, you know,
• 03:34a couple of disciplines, not
• 03:35just one.
• 03:37We provide stipend support and
• 03:38training related expenses primarily for
• 03:40health care coverage
• 03:42at the prescribed NIH
• 03:44pre doctoral levels as well
• 03:45as tuition typo. And trap
• 03:47that's good. As well as
• 03:48tuition and travel funds.
• 03:51Our funding comes from NIH,
• 03:53from the National Center for
• 03:54Advancing Translational Sciences or NCATS,
• 03:58clinical and translational science award.
• 04:01This has been called up
• 04:02till now the t l
• 04:03one. This is consistent with
• 04:05programs called t thirty twos,
• 04:07and we're also supported by
• 04:08institutional funds from the dean
• 04:10that are administered by Yale
• 04:12Center for Clinical Investigation.
• 04:14As part of the structure,
• 04:15in addition to, you know,
• 04:17the funding support, we
• 04:19are excited to have research
• 04:21and progress,
• 04:22sessions that occur twice per
• 04:24per month where folks can
• 04:25present on their research and
• 04:26learn about what your,
• 04:28colleagues are doing and get
• 04:30gain skills in both presentation,
• 04:32different content areas,
• 04:34and networking.
• 04:37We also have the research
• 04:38opportunities for clinical and translational
• 04:40studies, which we call Rockettes,
• 04:41which is a summer series
• 04:42that occurs weekly over the
• 04:44summer.
• 04:44We have YCCI special programs,
• 04:46which occurs monthly on,
• 04:49the third Monday of the
• 04:51month, and then we have
• 04:52the team science activities. So
• 04:54that's really the
• 04:55infrastructure for the training, but
• 04:57then,
• 04:59also, we have,
• 05:01extra levels of mentorship support
• 05:02for you guys in addition
• 05:04to your assigned mentors.
• 05:06Next slide, please.
• 05:10In terms of the eligibility,
• 05:11we, require that your Yale
• 05:13students
• 05:14actively enrolled and in good
• 05:16standing in the MD program,
• 05:17MD PhD program, or PhD
• 05:19program.
• 05:21Applicants who are working towards
• 05:22their PhD program must have
• 05:23passed their qualifying exams by
• 05:25the anticipated start date and
• 05:27be projected to remain in
• 05:29the PhD program for the
• 05:31duration of the year award.
• 05:33Applicants must be US citizens,
• 05:35noncitizen
• 05:36nationals, or have been lawfully
• 05:38admitted for permanent residence at
• 05:39the time of application.
• 05:41That's an NIH rule, not
• 05:43ours.
• 05:44The YCCI program awardees who
• 05:46have already received two years
• 05:48of support
• 05:49from this mechanism are not
• 05:50eligible to apply.
• 05:52And applicants may have no
• 05:53more than four years of
• 05:55NRSA support prior to beginning
• 05:57the program.
• 05:58NRSA support at the predoctoral
• 06:00level via institutional training programs
• 06:03or individual fellowship awards is
• 06:05limited to five years.
• 06:13And then just we wanna
• 06:14make sure you're aware of
• 06:15our areas of special emphasis.
• 06:17These are things that are
• 06:18really
• 06:19important to what we're trying
• 06:21to foster and support research,
• 06:24in these areas. So thinking
• 06:26through these as you put
• 06:27together your applications,
• 06:29promotion of diversity and translational
• 06:31research, promotion of health equity
• 06:33research, promotion of community engaged
• 06:35research and implementation science, which
• 06:37are distinct and sometimes overlapping
• 06:39domains, and then the promotion
• 06:41of new technologies,
• 06:42including artificial intelligence and clinical
• 06:45research.
• 06:49So I'm gonna turn it
• 06:50over to Christine to jump
• 06:51into details about the application
• 06:53process.
• 06:55Okay. So
• 06:58we released the RFA and
• 06:59application in November.
• 07:02And now that we're in
• 07:03January, we're having this webinar.
• 07:05So thank you all for
• 07:06attending.
• 07:08And just so you're aware,
• 07:10we're recording this webinar and
• 07:13I will be
• 07:15putting
• 07:17this recording on our website
• 07:20where you found the information,
• 07:23on this program,
• 07:25probably in the next couple
• 07:26of days.
• 07:28So if you wanna refer
• 07:30back to it or if
• 07:31you know somebody who's interested
• 07:32in the program and couldn't
• 07:34attend today,
• 07:37there's an opportunity to review
• 07:39this recording again once it's
• 07:40posted online.
• 07:43Alright. So all applications are
• 07:45due Friday, March seventh at
• 07:47five PM.
• 07:49After which,
• 07:51we'll do an internal review
• 07:53to make sure that all
• 07:54of your applications
• 07:55are
• 07:56complete and in good shape.
• 07:59And then,
• 08:01in April,
• 08:02we'll have,
• 08:04applications reviewed by our expert
• 08:06faculty.
• 08:07We have a review committee
• 08:09like all other NIH
• 08:11related,
• 08:13grant programs.
• 08:15And then we'll have the
• 08:17review meeting.
• 08:18And then in May, we'll
• 08:21I'll send out just in
• 08:22time requests, also referred to
• 08:24as JIT requests.
• 08:26And that's mainly to
• 08:30ask you about,
• 08:32any potential
• 08:33funding changes on your end.
• 08:36Some of you may be
• 08:37applying for,
• 08:39f thirty or f thirty
• 08:41one applications.
• 08:43So we wanna be aware
• 08:44of that.
• 08:46Okay. Thanks, Jen.
• 08:48Feel free to drop questions
• 08:49in the chat.
• 08:52And then, you know, after
• 08:54the the JET requests and
• 08:56we have a a better
• 08:57sense
• 08:59of whether people may have
• 09:00gotten their own fellowships,
• 09:02we'll do notifications.
• 09:05So the earliest start date
• 09:07for our program is June
• 09:09first for funding,
• 09:11and that's to align with
• 09:12our,
• 09:13grant award. Our grant year
• 09:16starts June one and goes
• 09:17through May thirty first.
• 09:21We do have some flexibility.
• 09:24Obviously, July one is our
• 09:26fiscal year start date.
• 09:29So we can work with
• 09:30July one. We may have
• 09:32some flexibility with other start
• 09:34dates in the summer,
• 09:36but we can talk about
• 09:37that in a little bit.
• 09:38And then programming for all
• 09:40of our scholars begins in
• 09:41July.
• 09:43And we should mention that
• 09:45we have,
• 09:47programming
• 09:48that is encompassing
• 09:50all of our programs. So
• 09:51it's
• 09:52our k junior faculty scholars,
• 09:55our pre doctoral trainees, and
• 09:57our post doctoral trainees
• 10:00are all together in these
• 10:02programming and educational tech,
• 10:04activities.
• 10:10Okay.
• 10:11So again, Friday, March seventh,
• 10:14five o'clock
• 10:15is the the key date
• 10:16and time to keep in
• 10:18mind.
• 10:19The postdoctoral application,
• 10:21the word
• 10:23document is already posted on
• 10:25the web page.
• 10:27If you haven't seen it
• 10:28yet, it's down at the
• 10:30bottom of the the web
• 10:31page.
• 10:33Please be sure to follow
• 10:35all of the instructions.
• 10:37So for those of you
• 10:39who are
• 10:40current awardees and applying for
• 10:42a second year of support,
• 10:44be sure to keep,
• 10:46to read the reapplication
• 10:48instructions.
• 10:49So you need to submit
• 10:51a reapplication summary
• 10:53that describes,
• 10:55the previous
• 10:56project aims
• 10:58and how,
• 11:00the aims have changed and
• 11:02the progress you've made over
• 11:03the past year. So that's
• 11:06something extra that only
• 11:08current awardees who are applying
• 11:10for a second year need
• 11:11to include in the application.
• 11:15The other support document, everyone
• 11:17needs to complete that.
• 11:19Please work with your business
• 11:20office
• 11:21to
• 11:22complete and submit that document.
• 11:26And then details of what
• 11:28should be included in your
• 11:29mentor's letters of support.
• 11:32So this,
• 11:33includes
• 11:34commitment,
• 11:36their commitment to you in
• 11:38terms of additional costs.
• 11:40So research costs.
• 11:43We should note that
• 11:45while our funding provides,
• 11:48a stipend for you and
• 11:50training related expenses,
• 11:52it does not
• 11:53cover any research costs,
• 11:56that you may need to
• 11:57conduct your research.
• 11:59And that's true for all
• 12:02NIH
• 12:03grants at this level.
• 12:06And then, again,
• 12:08for those of you who
• 12:09are applying for a second
• 12:10year of support, your mentor's
• 12:12letters should,
• 12:15talk about the progress you
• 12:16have made during your first
• 12:17year.
• 12:21And then finally, just be
• 12:22sure that you use the
• 12:23correct versions
• 12:25of the
• 12:26NIH fellowship biosketch
• 12:29and other support.
• 12:31And all of this information
• 12:32is listed in the application.
• 12:34I just wanted to,
• 12:36highlight this for you.
• 12:43Okay. And more details
• 12:44here
• 12:46on what is included
• 12:48in the application
• 12:49and the online submission.
• 12:52So when you actually go
• 12:53to submit your application,
• 12:55you're gonna go to the
• 12:57online form. It's a Qualtrics
• 12:59form. Again, it's listed on
• 13:01the web page.
• 13:03So there are some form
• 13:05questions that you're gonna fill
• 13:06out, and they're basic questions
• 13:09related to the application itself.
• 13:12And then you're gonna upload
• 13:13the application package,
• 13:16which is going to include
• 13:17these items here.
• 13:19So your research abstract, which
• 13:21is a half a page.
• 13:23I should mention
• 13:25in the parentheses here are
• 13:27the limits
• 13:28for these
• 13:29application items.
• 13:31Please keep to these limits.
• 13:35So, again, this reapplication summary
• 13:37is only for current awardees
• 13:39applying for the second year.
• 13:42And then we have the
• 13:43research plan narrative, three pages,
• 13:46bibliography and references cited. There's
• 13:49no limit for that.
• 13:51Your statement of purpose,
• 13:53your biosketch,
• 13:55your other support,
• 13:56and then letters from your
• 13:58primary and secondary mentors.
• 14:01And then finally, there's a
• 14:02section
• 14:03at the end of the
• 14:04online form,
• 14:06related to some CTSA reporting
• 14:09questions,
• 14:10which are basically demographic questions.
• 14:18And then just a couple
• 14:19of tips and tricks, basically,
• 14:21do's and don'ts.
• 14:23Make sure your mentors
• 14:25review your applications.
• 14:28You wanna make sure that
• 14:29your application is free of
• 14:30spelling and grammar errors.
• 14:32Basically, you wanna put your
• 14:34your best best application forward.
• 14:38I should mention we do
• 14:39get a lot of applications
• 14:40for this program.
• 14:42So it's highly selective.
• 14:44And we wanna make sure
• 14:46you,
• 14:47present your best application.
• 14:50Another thing, write out acronyms,
• 14:52especially the first time you
• 14:54use them.
• 14:55Or better yet, don't use
• 14:56them at all.
• 15:00Make sure you review
• 15:02the RFA and the instructions
• 15:04before you submit your application.
• 15:06Of course, if you have
• 15:07questions,
• 15:09please feel free to reach
• 15:10out to us.
• 15:11And we have the email
• 15:13address. I think it's on
• 15:14the next page.
• 15:17And then don't forget to
• 15:18include the letters of support
• 15:20from each of your mentors
• 15:22outlining their commitment to cover
• 15:23your additional
• 15:25costs, including
• 15:26the research support costs.
• 15:33Oh, and then we also
• 15:34have the,
• 15:35application
• 15:36review and award
• 15:38process.
• 15:42Jen, do you wanna talk
• 15:43about this part?
• 15:47Sure. Thank you, Christine, so
• 15:48much. And, Sofia, that's a
• 15:49great question. We can spend
• 15:51some time answering that. And
• 15:52others, feel free to drop
• 15:54additional questions on the chat.
• 15:56So just to be really
• 15:57clear for folks about the
• 15:58review criteria that folks will
• 16:01use to,
• 16:02assess your application,
• 16:04we use a process that
• 16:05is similar to, you know,
• 16:07NIH study sections where we
• 16:09have independent reviewers,
• 16:12rate your application based on
• 16:13these areas. So based on
• 16:15the applicant, so who you
• 16:16are and your track record
• 16:17and commitment to research thus
• 16:19far, your mentoring plan,
• 16:22innovation,
• 16:23significance, and approach as it
• 16:25relates to your project, your
• 16:27commitment to multidisciplinary
• 16:28science, and then how you
• 16:30may or may not be
• 16:31addressing an area of special
• 16:33emphasis.
• 16:34I'll just interrupt myself and
• 16:35answer this question that came
• 16:37up, which is really important
• 16:38about the mentorship team.
• 16:40So faculty
• 16:41with a demonstrated track record
• 16:44of mentorship
• 16:46is gonna be the best.
• 16:48It doesn't matter if they're,
• 16:49PhD,
• 16:50MD, MD, PhD. I think
• 16:52we're agnostic as long as
• 16:54they're well aligned to help
• 16:56support you
• 16:57to reach your research goals
• 16:59and, training related goals that
• 17:01you have. So that's what's
• 17:03really, most relevant.
• 17:05If you have two PhD
• 17:07mentors, that's totally fine. There's
• 17:08nothing
• 17:10that impacts there, you know,
• 17:11there aren't any criteria around
• 17:13the phenotype per se.
• 17:16It is very helpful to
• 17:17have at least one of
• 17:18mentors. Your primary mentor should
• 17:20be at Yale, but I
• 17:21think it's okay to have
• 17:22an an external mentor for
• 17:24sure. And that's,
• 17:25again, as long as you
• 17:26can make really clear how
• 17:28the communication will be,
• 17:30and that,
• 17:32you know, the letters will
• 17:33reflect their commitment
• 17:35and,
• 17:36to the extent that you've
• 17:37worked with them previously
• 17:38to show about, you know,
• 17:40it'll be successful. That's helpful,
• 17:41but obviously not required.
• 17:44I think regarding,
• 17:46postdoc being involved as a
• 17:48mentor,
• 17:49I think it's okay if
• 17:50they're involved with your work,
• 17:52but I think it would
• 17:52be a stronger application if
• 17:54you have somebody, again, who's,
• 17:56more experienced as a primary
• 17:58mentor.
• 18:01I think that answers those
• 18:02questions. Christine, feel free to
• 18:03jump in with anything.
• 18:05K.
• 18:07And then in terms of
• 18:08the award notification,
• 18:11great. And feel free to
• 18:12if there's other questions around
• 18:14that, please let us know.
• 18:17The award notification
• 18:18that we let applicants know
• 18:21by the end of May,
• 18:23that's because we go through
• 18:24a whole review process and,
• 18:26you know, it just takes
• 18:27some,
• 18:28time to go through the
• 18:29logistics.
• 18:31The earliest start date is
• 18:33gonna be June first to
• 18:34coincide with the start of
• 18:35our grant year, and we
• 18:36can accommodate a July first
• 18:38start date and have some
• 18:39flexibility to accommodate later start
• 18:41dates as needed.
• 18:47That's all we had prepared.
• 18:50Give us your questions.
• 18:54And then as I mentioned
• 18:55earlier,
• 18:57y c c I underscore
• 18:58funding underscore opportunities at Yale
• 19:00is the email address
• 19:02if you have questions that
• 19:03come up later while you're
• 19:04preparing your application.
• 19:08And we'll, you know, certainly
• 19:10address them for you.
• 19:14Nicole and Sofia, I see
• 19:16you had questions about
• 19:17mentorship. Does that answer
• 19:20everything for you clearly?
• 19:22I I do have kind
• 19:23of an additional question. I
• 19:25was gonna type it out,
• 19:25but this is probably just
• 19:26easier.
• 19:29How disparate
• 19:31do the multidisciplinary
• 19:32like,
• 19:34how, like, how desperate is
• 19:36it preferred? Because I guess,
• 19:37like, I have one mentor
• 19:38in the school of medicine
• 19:39and one school in the
• 19:40school of public health. But
• 19:41those are both, like, health
• 19:43centric fields, and I I
• 19:44wanna make sure that I'm
• 19:45doing enough, like, multidisciplinary.
• 19:48Yeah. I think that's a
• 19:49great question. I think that
• 19:51is not an uncommon structure
• 19:53that people have.
• 19:55So I think that would
• 19:55be totally
• 19:56acceptable.
• 19:57And, again, the key will
• 19:59be
• 20:00making sure that it's aligned
• 20:01with the project and the
• 20:03training that you need to
• 20:04get the work done.
• 20:06But that sounds like it
• 20:07would hit our metrics for
• 20:09what we're looking for multidisciplinary
• 20:11mentorship.
• 20:12Great. Thank you.
• 20:15Of course.
• 20:19Hi.
• 20:20Hi, Maria. Hello.
• 20:22Thank you for all of
• 20:23the information.
• 20:24I had a question on
• 20:26the applicant biosketch.
• 20:28I know that for
• 20:30the spring, the,
• 20:32the grade section is not,
• 20:34I guess, included anymore as
• 20:36part of, like,
• 20:37the NIH fellowship applications.
• 20:39I was wondering if we
• 20:40should still include the grades
• 20:42as, like, the last part
• 20:44of the bio
• 20:45sketch, if yeah.
• 20:49That's a good question. Traditionally,
• 20:51we have followed the NIH
• 20:52instructions and use the same
• 20:55guidance. So I imagine we'll
• 20:56do the same.
• 20:58Okay.
• 21:00Thank you. And if the,
• 21:02it if it's updated for
• 21:04this,
• 21:05spring kind of just still
• 21:06stick with
• 21:08stick with,
• 21:09including the
• 21:11or I guess sorry, including
• 21:13the grades.
• 21:14I think that the new
• 21:16biosketch thing doesn't take effect
• 21:18until May twenty Yeah. Twenty
• 21:20fifth. Yeah. I wanna say
• 21:22it's May.
• 21:24I know the the current
• 21:27biosketch,
• 21:29I believe, is good until
• 21:31January twenty six.
• 21:33But I can I can
• 21:35look into it?
• 21:36Again, I know SciENcv
• 21:39is what,
• 21:40they want
• 21:43faculty to use
• 21:45as of I think it's
• 21:46as of May something.
• 21:48Okay. But I'm not sure
• 21:49if that's also for the
• 21:51fellowship level. So I can
• 21:53look into that.
• 21:54Okay.
• 21:55Thank you.
• 21:58Thanks, Maria, for bringing that
• 22:00up.
• 22:12Any other questions we can
• 22:13answer?
• 22:23Great. Well, thank you all
• 22:25for your interest. Thanks for
• 22:26signing in. We're available to
• 22:28answer any questions at comp
• 22:29and follow-up. We'll loop back
• 22:30about this BioSketch question
• 22:33and, look forward to your
• 22:34applications.
• 22:35Stay warm.
• 22:38Thanks, everybody. Thank you. Thank
• 22:40you.