Education & Training FAQs

What is Translational Science? Translational Science is the field of investigations that focus on turning observations in the laboratory, clinic, and community into interventions that improve the health of individuals and the public—from diagnostics and therapeutics to medical procedures and behavioral changes. Read more about the stages of translational science here. 

• Weill Cornell Medicine
• New York Presbyterian Hospital
• Cornell University, Ithaca
• Cornell University Cooperative Extension, New York City
• Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
• Hospital for Special Surgery
• Hunter College of the City University of New York
• Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing
• Hunter School of Urban Public Health
• CUNY School of Public Health
• Hunter Center for Translational and Basic Research
• Animal Medical Center
• Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine

Eligible applicants must meet one of the following residency statuses and be able to provide verification:

• US Citizen
• Non-Citizen National (a person born in or having ties with "an outlying possession of the United States", i.e., American Samoa or Swains Island)
• Lawfully Admitted Permanent Resident (someone who has been granted authorization to live and work in the US on a permanent basis. As proof of that status, a person is granted a permanent resident card, commonly called a "green card.")

This is a scholarship program and students are only responsible for activities fees and course-related materials (textbooks, software, etc.). In addition, to ensure protected time, institutional resources and NIH training grant mechanisms may be available for qualified applicants in the form of the CTSC TL1 Pre/early Post-doctoral Training Award and the CTSC KL2 Career Development Award. 

MCAT scores are required for medical students and MDs

GRE scores are optional for TL1 and KL2 applicants

During the first year of the core curriculum, classes are scheduled for approximately 1 to 2.5 hours (between 3:00 – 6:30 PM) Mondays through Fridays, from September through June. Second year elective course schedules vary depending upon course selection.

CTEP Course Directors are comprised of faculty from Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, and Hunter College with diverse backgrounds and specialties in clinical translational research, biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, to pharmacology, genetics, team science, ethics, among others. Please refer to the CTEP list of faculty for further information.

In limited and special circumstances, the Program may accept transfer credits from other graduate institutions. To inquire please send a letter of request with an official academic transcript(s) along with the corresponding course descriptions and syllabi, including course dates and times, to the Program Office.

Yes, all are welcome to apply as long as the Candidate meets the legal status requirement and is currently employed by one of the CTSC Partner Institutions.

Multi-institutional Mentors: means that at least two mentors must hold primary appointment at different CTSC partner institutions (For example: WCMC and MSKCC). You may also have an additional mentor from outside of one of the partner institutes but he/she cannot serve as a primary mentor.

Multidisciplinary Mentors: means having mentors from distinct disciplinary perspectives outside of the biological sciences, such as the behavioral, quantitative, social, computational/information, engineering, and physical sciences. For example: one mentor may be an Immunologist and a secondary a Biomedical Engineer.

MS - The Master’s Degree includes two tracks, the Advanced Certificate track and the Master’s degree track. The Advanced Certificate track is a one year program with 22 credits of didactic coursework. For students who choose the Master’s Degree Track (Track II), this program combines the didactic coursework of the Advanced Certificate track plus elective coursework with a mentored clinical research project, conducted under the tutelage of a team of established clinical investigators, is an integral part of their training.

During the first year, the trainees meet with chosen mentors to refine their research proposal and begin conducting research). During the second year, trainees will utilize the skills acquired from the previous year's core curriculum coursework to further conduct their research project on the Clinical & Translational Science Center, which requires a 75% time and effort commitment (50% for surgeons).

KL2 - The primary objective of the KL2 Scholars award program is to provide junior faculty and senior fellows who have already earned a doctorate degree with 75% protected time (50% for surgeons) to pursue training and mentored research in Clinical and Translational Investigation.

TL1 - The primary aims of the TL1 Training Award is to expose pre- and early post-doctoral candidates to Clinical and Translational research before their interests and paths are set, enabling them to move into Clinical and Translational research early on in their careers. Provide 100% protected time to pursue training in Clinical and Translational Investigation.

The CTSC Master’s Degree is open to medical students and clinicians (MDs, PhDs, MD/PhDs, senior residents, fellows) seeking a career in clinical and translational research, Dentists with Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) degrees, Faculty members from any of the partnering CTSC institutions, PhD candidates in Nursing School, those with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), Master of Science in Nursing (MSN), and Doctorate of Science in Nursing (DNS) degrees, Certified Physicians' Assistants and Clinical Research Project Coordinators.

Students may apply to the Advanced Certificate or Master’s Degree, but not to both. However, if a student applies for the Master’s Degree and is not selected for admission, they can request that the Selection Committee instead consider their application for the Advanced Certificate Program.

You will obtain an Advanced Certificate of Clinical Translational Investigation after successful completion of the following core courses:

• Foundations of Clinical Research
• Introduction to Biostatistics in Clinical Research
• Principles of Clinical Pharmacology
• Tri-Institutional Responsible Conduct of Research
• Molecular Biology and Genetics in Clinical Research
• Clinical Trials Design and Analysis
• Bioinformatics Workshop
• Data Management for Clinical Research
• Foundations of Epidemiology
• Research Grant Writing I
• Research Grant Writing II

Yes, you may apply to the Advanced Certificate Program first, and at a later time apply to the Master’s Degree. To apply you will need to complete the application for the Master’s Degree track in the electronic protocol authoring and review system (ePAR). The application for the Master’s Degree, while similar to the Advanced Certificate application, has a few notable differences: Your letters of recommendation must come from your proposed mentors and you will need to submit a 3-page research proposal. If you would like to have your name added to our request of application (RFA) please contact ctsc-education@med.cornell.edu. Admission to the Master’s Degree is not guaranteed and will be based on the strength of your research proposal and mentorship team, and research experience.

• Completion of didactic training (Core and Elective Courses)
• 80% or higher rate of attendance to all core and elective courses
• Satisfactory performance on written examinations in core and elective courses
• 75% time and effort devoted to performing and completing a mentored clinical & translational research project
• A grant submission to the NIH or other funding agency requiring peer-reviewed funding with the trainee as the Principal Investigator, or an article submitted to a high-quality, peer-reviewed, scientific journal
• Presentation of mentored research project at the annual research symposium, grand rounds, or a national or international conference
• Presentation of the mentored research project at a CTSC Research in Progress Luncheon
• Thesis successfully defended at the Master’s Examining Committee (MEC).

One of the Program’s objectives is to provide the skills, knowledge, and experience needed to apply for funding grants as an independent researcher to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) or other funding agencies (R21, R01, K23, or other NIH funding mechanism). While there is no one particular career path taken upon graduation, students have a wide spectrum of career opportunities; some go on to become independent researchers, others become faculty members, and there are those who simply benefit from boosting their clinical and translational research expertise in their current field/profession.

Please visit http://grants1.nih.gov/training/ for information about research training and research career opportunities available through the NIH and http://www.ncats.nih.gov/jobs for information about job opportunities from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

Individuals may enroll in CTSC Core and Elective Courses without formally enrolling in the Advanced Certificate or MS programs as non-matriculated students. Non-matriculated students may enroll in a maximum of 6 core credits, but there is no restriction on elective credit. Seats in courses are based on availability and not guaranteed. To inquire about enrolling as a non-matriculate student, please email ctsc-education@med.cornell.edu. 

The Clinical and Translational Investigation Program was designed for flexibility by offering two tracks to encourage participation in Clinical & Translational research at different levels.

• Advanced Certificate: a one-year program consisting of a core curriculum resulting in an Advanced Certificate in Clinical and Translational Investigation.
• Master’s Degree: a 2-3 year (if needed) program consisting of a core curriculum, elective courses, and a mentored Clinical & Translational research project resulting in a Master of Science Degree in Clinical & Translational Investigation.

MS Students must commit to required class time in year 1 and 75% protected time (50% for surgeons) during year 2.

Accepted students who would like to apply for deferral must write to the CTEP Program Office stating their reason for requesting deferral and their proposed plans for the duration of the deferral. If approved, the deferral is typically granted for one year. The Admissions Committee is generally supportive of proposals that provide for participation in intellectually rewarding opportunities and service programs during the time of deferral from the CTEP.

KL2 - The primary objective of the KL2 Scholars award program is to provide junior faculty and senior fellows who have already earned a doctorate degree with 75% protected time (50% for surgeons) to pursue training and mentored research in Clinical and Translational Investigation.

TL1 - The primary aims of the TL1 Training Award is to expose pre- and early post-doctoral candidates to Clinical and Translational research before their interests and paths are set, enabling them to move into Clinical and Translational research early on in their careers. Provide 100% protected time to pursue training in Clinical and Translational Investigation.

The CTSC KL2 Scholars Award is open to senior fellows, residents and fellows in the Internal Medicine research pathway, PhDs, Junior faculty (instructor or assistant professor), Nurses who currently hold DSN, DPT, or PhD degrees, all candidates must meet one of the three residency statuses (US citizen, Non-Citizen National, or Permanent Resident). All candidates must have a full-time primary appointment at WCM or a CTSC partnering institution and the ability to devote a minimum of 75% time and effort (50% for surgeons) to the KL2 Scholar Award Program. No Scholar may hold two concurrent CTSC awards, no Scholar may be named PI on more than one active CTSC application. Individuals who were, or currently are a Principal Investigator on any NIH R01, R29, P01, K01, K08, K22, or K23 grant are not eligible.

Trainees supported under the CTSC TL1 Training Award may be pre-doctoral or early post-doctoral candidates seeking a research or health professional doctoral degree or its equivalent. Pre-doctoral candidates must have received a baccalaureate degree by the date of appointment. Individuals currently supported by other Federal funds are not eligible for trainee support from the T32 component. Medical students must obtain approval from the Weill Cornell Medical School Dean of Academic Affairs, Dr. Sibel Klimstra, and Dr. Anthony Brown, Director of Medical Student Research. This program is also open to graduate students in a doctoral degree, nursing candidates for DSN or DNP and Dental (DDS) and Pharmacy (PharmD) students.  

Postdoctoral trainees must have received, as of the beginning date of the TL1 appointment, a PhD, MD, DDS, or comparable doctoral degree from an accredited domestic or foreign institution. Early post-doctoral candidates must be no more than 3 years removed from their terminal doctoral degree.

No individual trainee may receive more than five years of aggregate NRSA support at the pre-doctoral level or 3 years of support at the post-doctoral level, including any combination of support from institutional training and individual fellowship awards.

KL2 Scholars must commit a minimum of 75% effort (50% for surgeons) to the KL2 Program and its related training and research activities consonant with the NCATS guidelines during the award period (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/rfa-files/rfa-rm-08-022.html).

TL1 Trainees must commit full-time (100%) effort to the TL1 Program and its training and research activities consonant with the NRSA guidelines during the award period (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-08-226.html). 

The trans-NIH policy stipulates that KL2 candidates may not apply or have pending an application for a similar mentored K award (e.g., K08, K23, etc.) simultaneously. However, once appointed as KL2 scholars supported through the CTSC, K Scholars may apply for NIH K grant support. If they are successful, they then move from one grant mechanism to the other.

The KL2 and NIH mentored career development awards (e.g. K07, K08, K23, etc.) are geared for more junior candidates who are interested in developing academic and research expertise. This serves as a conflict for applicants wanting to apply to several K awards where the research training and didactic coursework are essentially the same. At the time of their appointments, scholars must not have pending an application for any other PHS mentored career development award (e.g. K07, K08, K22, K23) that duplicates any of the provisions of the K component. Former or current PDs/PIs on any NIH research project grant [this does not include NIH small grants (R03), exploratory Developmental (R21) or SBIR, STTR (R43, R44 grants)] or equivalent non-PHS peer reviewed grants that are over $100,000 direct costs per year, or project leaders on sub-projects of Program project (P01) or center grants (P50) are NOT eligible to participate as scholars.

An individual who has submitted an NIH mentored career development award but has not received a score or summary statement may not submit a KL2 application until the funding status of that K award is known. Even if the candidate receives an non-fundable score, there may still be a pending decision. There is still a possibility that the grant may receive a recommendation for high program priority by NIH, and the grant may be funded. Therefore, the candidate must be certain that a grant is non-fundable (it would be optimal to have that statement in writing.) If the K Career Development grant is funded, then no KL2 application may be submitted, and if the K23 is not funded, then an identical KL2 application may be submitted (assuming no other identical K23 application has been resubmitted).

At the time of their appointments, scholars must not have pending an application for any other PHS mentored career development award (e.g. K07, K08, K22, K23) that duplicates any of the provisions of the K component. Appointed scholars are encouraged to apply for individual mentored K awards (e.g. K07, K08, K22, K23) and independent awards (R01, R03, R21); if successful, the KL2 appointment would be terminated and funding received from the new individual K or R award. 

 The NIH has a specific policy on receiving concurrent support as a PI of an NIH R01 and a K Career Development Award in the last two years of a K, which can be reviewed here: https://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-OD-18-157.html

Scholars to be supported by the institutional career development program must be at the career level for which the planned program is intended.  In keeping with the type of mentoring and career development being provided by the CTSA, a KL2 scholar candidate who is already in the process of applying for an independent mentored career development grant, a P01 grant, or R01 grant is likely too senior for the KL2 award.

 Former or current PDs/PIs on any NIH research project grant [this does not include NIH small grants (R03), exploratory Developmental (R21) or SBIR, STTR (R43, R44 grants)] or equivalent non-PHS peer reviewed grants that are over $100,000 direct costs per year, or project leaders on sub-projects of program project (P01) or center grants (P50) are NOT eligible to participate as scholars.