The purpose of the SARC Career Development Program is to help prepare and support clinician-scientists with an M.D. or D.O. working in sarcoma as they begin their careers as independent clinical researchers.

 

The early stage of career development, when a researcher is transitioning from working in a mentored environment to setting up an independent research program and obtaining grant funding, is a critical period. It is often more difficult for clinician-scientists who are conducting clinical research to make this transition than it is for other researchers because these individuals typically have to balance the demands of seeing patients with those of conducting research. Those demands, together with the complexity of today’s research environment and the pace of progress, make it particularly challenging to maintain the knowledge base needed to be both a clinician and a researcher. Nevertheless, the role of the clinician-scientist in providing the bridge between the clinic and the laboratory is critical for the timely translation of basic research findings into therapeutic approaches.

 

In 2012, Career Development Awards are being offered at a level of $100,000 per year for up to three years. Award is for direct costs only. No funds for indirect costs will be provided, nor can they be attached to this award.

 

It is SARC’s vision that by providing stable support at a critical career juncture for clinician-scientists, the Career Development Award will encourage physicians to pursue careers in clinical research. Also, SARC hopes to support successful candidates to have important careers in academic medicine and become future leaders of SARC.

 

Definition of Clinical Research

For the purposes of this award program, clinical research is defined as research conducted with human subjects or human materials with direct application to the prevention, diagnosis, or treatment of sarcoma.

The definition of clinical research specifically includes:

• Translational laboratory studies on the etiology and pathogenesis of sarcoma and related diseases
• Therapeutic interventions
• Clinical trials
• Disease control research that investigates how scientifically obtained information on prevention, early detection and early diagnosis can be efficiently applied
• Health outcomes research that either attempts to determine systematically the risk/benefits and costs of various medical practices or attempts to utilize these results in defining more effective medical practice guidelines
• Epidemiological studies