Federal Grant Award Summary

The University of Massachusetts Medical School received a $949,994 Project Grant award from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS, CFDA 93.350) effective April 1, 2026, through March 31, 2031. This K12 award, designated as the 2/3 CTSA K12 Program, supports the development of early-career translational scientists through structured career development and mentoring. The program will support four National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS)-funded scholars at any given time, supplemented by three diversity scholars funded through institutional resources and two scholars supported by clinical partners, for a steady-state cohort of nine scholars. All scholars will receive identical career development support through transdisciplinary team mentoring, individual development plans, and structured training aligned with seven fundamental characteristics and eight scientific and operational principles of translational science.

The program builds upon the institution's successful KL2 predecessor program, which trained 27 scholars since 2010 who collectively published 978 peer-reviewed articles and secured $339 million in extramural funding as principal investigators. Scholars recruited across all five University of Massachusetts campuses and three clinical partner institutions will receive training designed to address current challenges in the translational science workforce, including organizational silos and lack of sociodemographic and scientific diversity. Participants will be junior faculty, typically assistant professors with health-related scientific interests, positioned to advance translational research methodologies and accelerate the translation of scientific discoveries into clinical applications.