Supplement for the 2019 TDN TDC Award (PIPE: PI Protected Effort)

I joined the University of Kentucky (UK) in 2015 after finishing my fellowship at Children’s National Medical Center. During my medical school, residency as well as fellowship, I had done only basic science or translational research, with no experience in clinical research. I was involved in multiple projects and was able to get many awards and presented at the national and international conferences as well as publications. I started getting more involved in clinical research soon after joining the UK. I was Co-PI for two years until in 2017 due to my research interest, I was promoted as Research director for the division, and soon after that, I was appointed as TDN Director. - Before I became the TDN Director, there has been a lot of attrition in our research effort primarily due to increase RC turnovers. After reviewing the feedback from RC, we realized that “Lack of PI supervision and time” is the primary reason for RC turnovers. Since my appointment, I have involved RCs in the study decision making and acknowledging their contribution and working as a team. If I get the PIPE award, I plan to devote more time to RCs and RA – from 2 times a week to 3-4 times a week. I also want to foster a culture of research in our division with more participation from RCs and help them to achieve their career goal, which I believe will be critical for our success on a long-term basis. - “ A strong and knowledgeable leader makes great strides in research.“ I encouraged my lead RC to take ACRP certification, and now she is ARCP certified. I am now a member of ACRP. My goal is to be ACRP certified - CPI by next year. I am on clinical track series, and I do 20 – 22 weeks of services in a year along with 1 and ½ day clinic throughout the year even while I am on service. At present, unfortunately, with this amount of clinical load, it is sometimes difficult for me to learn more in-depth about the role of a clinical scientist. - QI projects – we were selected for eQUIP program, we have started 3 QI projects, and I would like to continue the momentum and make changes in our institution depending upon the outcome. I plan to present our research outcome in the next year NACFC.