• Introduction and Overview
• OAIC Principal Investigators
• Center Cores and Components
• Pilot Research Projects and Principal Investigators - Year 01 to Present
• Current Research Projects
• Press Releases
• Funding
• Resources and Tools
• Contact the UCLA Pepper Center
• Other Pepper Centers
• National Institute on Aging

Funding Available from Pepper Center

UCLA Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program in Geriatrics Career Development Awards (K12)

The UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology is in the second 5-year renewal of its UCLA Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program (MCSDP) from the National Institute on Aging for the period September 2005 – October 2010.

The purpose of the Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program (MCSDP) is to support career development experiences for geriatrics clinician-scientists that will lead to research independence. The major theme of the MCSDP is health services research and clinical epidemiology but the program is also interested in clinician scientists who focus on basic science aspects of geriatrics and aging.

The structure for career development will include three major components:

1.  Research conducted in a structured and intensively mentored environment:

A Mentoring Committee for each award recipient will be established. This committee will provide scientific and career mentorship and will monitor the awardee’s progress. The Committee will be chaired by the primary mentor and will be comprised of at least 3 members. The Mentoring Committee will meet at least quarterly and will include a formal presentation of progress by the awardee and feedback from the entire Committee. The primary mentor will have direct supervision with the awardee at least weekly.

2.  Research training experiences shared by all awardees:

• a course on the responsible conduct of research
• a seminar series on academic skills, the Academic Advancement Course
• individual critique of written and oral presentations of awardees work by a cadre of senior investigators
• a research seminar devoted solely to UCLA career development awardees
• a monthly seminar on practical aspects of conducting research
  

3.  Research training that is tailored to the individual awardee:

Specific career development plans for each candidate will be tailored to meet that individual clinician-scientist’s needs.

Award Support and Duration

Each awardee will be guaranteed a minimum of 75% protected time for research and research training for the duration of the award as well as space and additional resources including research expenses, tuition fees/books and travel . Awardees must hold a UCLA faculty appointment and be based in Los Angeles for the duration of the award.

All awardees will receive a minimum of 3 years contingent upon an annual satisfactory review of their progress.


Selection Criteria

• Previous training and credentials of candidate. Only physician faculty who have had formal training in research at least at the Master’s level, including an advanced degree will be considered.
• Scientific merit of research plan.
• Quality and appropriateness of individual career development plan.
• Qualifications of mentor (e.g., previous training record, current extramural funding).
• Likelihood of candidate’s obtaining future independent funding.

Eligibility

Only U.S. citizens or non-citizen nationals, or an individual lawfully admitted for permanent residence who possesses an Alien Registration Receipt Card (I-151 or I-551), or some other verification of legal admission as a permanent resident prior to the time of award, are eligible for this award.


Application Process

All interested physicians should send:

• A one-page letter of intent describing their research interests and credentials
• Curriculum Vitae

To be considered for the UCLA Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Program in Geriatrics, please send the above materials electronically via e-mail to the attention of:

Mr. Lucio Arruda
Program Representative
UCLA Multicampus Program in Geriatric Medicine and Gerontology
Email: larruda@ucla.edu

The submission deadline is 5:00pm Pacific Time, Friday, October 28, 2005.

Based upon review of the letters of intent and CVs, some candidates will be asked to submit full proposals for their career development awards and will be interviewed by 3 members of the Program Advisory Committee before a final decision can be made.

For additional information or questions, please contact Lucio Arruda via e-mail at larruda@ucla.edu.

Pilot grant awards in aging-related basic, clinical and health services research are available from the UCLA OAIC at $20,000 for one year to interested UCLA or RAND faculty. Funding generally starts July 1 and requests for proposal are announced early in the spring.

Following is the OAIC pilot selection process:

• A one-page letter of intent and full CV are submitted to the OAIC Executive Committee for review.
• The OAIC Executive Committee will review letters of intent and contact investigators whom they wish to submit full pilot proposals.
• Full pilot proposals will be reviewed by the OAIC Executive Committee following the selection criteria below:
  
  1. quality of the proposed research
  2. credentials of PI (can be either senior faculty or junior faculty with evidence of research productivity)
  3. relatedness to the OAIC theme of maintaining and/or improving the independent functioning of older adults in the Los Angeles area (please also refer to UCLA OAIC Executive Summary below)
  4. likelihood that project will lead to subsequent funded projects

One major focus of the OAIC is junior faculty development. We sponsor a limited number of Career Development Awards to promising junior faculty doing aging-related research in clinical services, health services or basic science related to maintaining independent functioning in older adults. Junior faculty candidates for this program should be M.D. or Ph.D. assistant professors in their first to fourth years, working with a UCLA faculty mentor in a key aging-related area, very firmly committed to a long-term career in geriatrics or gerontology research, highly likely to achieve tenured faculty status, and capable of obtaining independent NIH or other national research support in the near future. They should also be willing to participate in the OAIC scientific program, potentially serve as future mentors for OAIC trainees, credit their OAIC support in all related publications and presentations, and present their research at OAIC scientific meetings.

For suitable candidates, the OAIC will provide a portion of their total salary and/or research support for up to three years. In general, $25,000 is available per year for each award, with a matching amount of support to be provided by the candidate’s sponsoring mentor or program.

Following is the OAIC CDA selection process:

Several months prior to the availability of a CDA, nominating letters and CV’s for potential CDA awardees will be solicited. The nominating letters will consist of:

• A 3-4 page letter of support from the candidate’s potential Primary Mentor detailing the candidate’s capabilities
• Accomplishments and commitment to an academic career in aging
• The proposed research training plan, including area of focus and specific projects
• Potential associate mentors to enhance training content
• Additional plans for the candidate’s professional development
• And a commitment to provide matching support.

These letters will be reviewed by the Executive Committee, and appropriate candidates selected for interviews by Committee members. On the basis of these interviews, the original application, and additional information as needed, the final candidates will be selected.

Before the awarding of a CDA, each candidate must work with his/her mentor to prepare a full-scale 10-page NIH style application that details the candidate’s research and training plans, including specific training goals, research objectives and timelines. These final proposals will then be reviewed formally by the Executive Committee in an NIH study section format with primary and secondary reviewers. If the Committee finds this full-scale application to be acceptable, the CDA will be awarded for a period of 3-years, with annual renewal contingent upon satisfactory progress.

For additional information on the UCLA OAIC funding opportunities and deadlines, please contact:

Mr. Lucio Arruda, UCLA Division of Geriatrics
email: larruda@ucla.edu

Research focus and long-range goals: The UCLA OAIC is designed to promote the independence of older persons by providing support for research to develop and test clinical interventions, and for core research in the basic sciences. An equally important component of the UCLA OAIC mission is training future leaders in aging research. Specific aims include:

1. To continue to serve as the focal point for geriatrics and gerontological research within the UCLA community;
2. To facilitate the development and testing of interventions to increase or maintain abilities need for independence of older persons.
3. To conduct basic science research that has potential clinical applications in maintaining independence.
4. To use established methods of health, utility, and cost measurement to assess and suggest ways to improve the cost effectiveness of clinical interventions.
5. To train researchers capable of leading and conducting research programs that are consistent with the mission of the UCLA OAIC.
6. To extend OAIC resources into the UCLA campus to increase the quality of aging research throughout the campus and to attract new and established researchers into aging research.
7. To study a wide range of populations in these research efforts, including older persons with various levels of baseline independence, diverse ethnic backgrounds, and those who have been traditionally underrepresented in research studies.
8. To translate UCLA OAIC research findings into improvements in health care practice.
   

PEPPER CENTER research projects address a broad spectrum of health, ranging from those who need preventive services (e.g., to prevent osteoporosis and to increase muscle strength) to those who are among the frailest nursing home residents whose immobility and chronic medical conditions place them at high risk for infections, high health care utilization, and mortality. UCLA Pepper Center sponsored research projects share a common theme, “linking interventional research to basic science.” Accordingly, each research project relates a current or potential clinical intervention to a basic science. We have defined basic sciences broadly, recognizing that biologic sciences (e.g., molecular biology and immunology), physical sciences (e.g., biomechanics), and social sciences (e.g., cost-effective analysis, behavioral theory) are all fundamentals upon which clinical interventions are derived and evaluated.

Last Updated: March 3, 2006 © 2000 UCLA GeroNet