K12 IMPACT Update
September, 2022
We were notified by our funder, the NHLBI, that our K12 IMPACT (IMPlementation to Achieve Clinical Transformation) Training Program in Dissemination andImplementation (D&I) Science (Co-PIs: Drs. Russell Glasgow and Edward Havranek) would not be able to be renewed. NHLBI is discontinuing all ten programs it funded nationwide from 2017-2022 to train D&I research scientists. We were saddened to learn this, as this field of study is so important for ensuring that effective interventions transcend beyond publications and because of the success of these programs both locally and nationally. The loss of funding meant that the cohort of scholars who started our program in July of 2020 would be our last and that the training program ended in June of 2022 (at least in this incarnation).
Our sponsor’s decision not to renew was especially disappointing given the incredible accomplishments of the nine scholars the K12 IMPACT Program had the pleasure of training over the previous four fiscal years: Drs. Meredith Fort, Jason Mansoori, Anna Maw, Anuj Mehta, Nee-Kofi Mould-Millman, Matthew Simpson, Amy Tyler, Katy Trinkley and Nicole Wagner. Since beginning their training, all nine scholars have been remarkably successful. As one example, our nine program graduates have gone on to secure over $14.8 million as principal, co-principle, or co-investigators on federally funded and institutional grants. Five of the nine graduates secured an individual career development award through AHRQ, NHLBI, and NIDA and one received a large award (comparable to an R01) from the Department of Defense. In addition to grant dollars and a number of conference presentations and accepted abstracts, since starting the program our nine graduates have collectively published 109 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals, roughly half of which are first author publications. Seven of the nine have additionally served in local, national or international leadership roles.
To celebrate all our graduates’ success and the hard work of the faculty and staff who made the K12 IMPACT Training Program in D&I Science possible, we held a celebration to send the fellowship off in style at Dr. Havranek’s house the evening of August 24th, 2022. We’d like to give a special shout out to K12 graduate Dr. Maw, who worked with our Project Coordinator (Rebecca Speer, MA) to order a special PRISM cake and matching t-shirts for our faculty, staff and Program graduates. We are so proud of all nine of our stellar trainees and all they have accomplished, especially throughout the last two and a half years of living and working in the context of a global pandemic. We look forward to seeing their future contributions to the field of dissemination and implementation science in their respective content areas!
Although the K12 IMPACT Training Program has come to an end, there are other ACCORDS sponsored training opportunities in D&I science, both comprehensive and less intensive. During the K12 IMPACT Training Program, ACCORDS worked with the Graduate School and CCTSI to launch a fully-online formal certificate program in D&I science. Further, for post-doctoral scholars in primary care, ACCORDS offers the HRSA-funded ACCORDS Primary Care Research Fellowship (APCRF) that will be recruiting for two new fellows this spring to start training in July of 2024. The fellowship has five methodological areas of emphasis: mixed methods/qualitative methods, health equity, community-based participatory research, economic analysis and D&I science. To learn more about these two training options, please check out the following websites:
ACCORDS Primary Care Research Fellowship (APCRF): https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/accords/research-publications/research-training/primary-care-research-fellowship
Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) Science Graduate Certificate Program: https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/accords/cores-and-programs/dissemination-implementation-science-program/dissemination-implementation-science-graduate-certificate-program
In addition, the ACCORDS D&I Science Program continues to provide a variety of brief, less formal training and education opportunities. These include periodic webinars, a robust D&I research consultation program, bi-monthly meetings that include WIPS and journal club discussions, a group mentoring program, and collaboration on the annual Colorado Pragmatic Research Conference (COPRH Con). For more information, please check out the Program’s website at: https://medschool.cuanschutz.edu/accords/cores-and-programs/dissemination-implementation-science-program
Finally, if you would like more information on the history of the K12 IMPACT Training Program or on the current ACCORDS Primary Care Research Fellowship, you can also reach out to the Research Training and Mentorship Programs Manager, Rebecca Speer, MA, at: Rebecca.Speer@cuanschutz.edu